On International Women’s Day, it is important to recognize, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did, that inherent differences between men and women “remain cause for celebration.” These differences have been present since the beginning of time, as seen in Genesis 1:27: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” All humans are made in the image of God with the dignity that entails, and humans are either male or female, fearfully and wonderfully made.
Today—and every day—we celebrate women, honoring their equal dignity and distinct gifts they bring to our families and communities.
Preserving Women’s Sports
Title IX provided monumental strides for women in education, including in athletics.
Women’s sports offer value in multiple ways to women. Friendships form. Teamwork develops. Girls learn discipline, time management, and to push their limits. Not to mention the scholarship opportunities.
But now, fair competition is not guaranteed. If a state reinterprets the word “sex” to include “gender identity,” men who identify as women can take accolades, scholarships, and even spots on the team. ADF represented three female athletes at the Supreme Court, standing alongside the attorneys general of Idaho and West Virginia to defend state laws that keep the women’s category for women only.
Madison Kenyon, one of the athletes mentioned above, said, “After I graduated with my nursing degree, I became an ER nurse, and I got married. And I can see how athletics has given me all of that…if we don’t protect female sports and allow it to just be women, then all that’s compromised. You get rid of privacy. You get rid of safety. You get rid of those protected opportunities for women that they did not have fifty years ago.”
But this is about more than sports. Removing girls’ athletic opportunities hurts their personal development and their professional opportunities. Women should have fairness, safety, dignity, and truth.
Defending Women’s Privacy
Privacy is an indispensable aspect of a woman’s life. It allows women’s safe spaces to be, well, safe. It allows women to let their guard down without substantial risks to their safety or dignity. Women’s-only spaces are a key component of women’s privacy.
Adaleia Cross, a high schooler from West Virginia, knows the consequences of allowing a male into female-only spaces. A male athlete joined her middle school track team and was in her locker room where the girls undressed. Girls opted to change in bathroom stalls or wear their practice clothes all day due to this discomfort. On the field and in the locker room, Adaleia endured vulgar, threatening sexual comments from this male athlete. Protecting women’s privacy begins with protecting their spaces.
ADF’s legislative team has written and testified on bills that protect women and girls in their most intimate spaces in schools, colleges, correctional facilities, and domestic violence shelters, to name a few. The team was pleased to commend the strong leadership of legislators and governors that passed this legislation. As we enter the 2026 session, protecting women’s private spaces is a priority of the legislative team this year and for the years to come.
Protecting Women from Mail-Order Abortion
Abortion drugs have a black box warning and pose serious risks to women’s health and safety, but the Biden FDA made them available by mail. What once required an in-person doctor visit can now be ordered online and delivered into pro-life states that prohibit them, even by abusers.
Even when taken as directed, roughly 1 in 25 women will end up in the emergency room and up to 7 percent will require surgery. The FDA itself admitted that these numbers increase when the drugs are dispensed by mail. A woman might be unaware of the gestational age of her baby or whether she has an ectopic pregnancy without an in-person doctor visit, and a doctor can see if she even wants the drugs or if an abuser is the one pressuring her to take them.
Rosalie Markezich, a woman in pro-life Louisiana, lost her child due to this reckless regime. Alone with him in a car, Rosalie’s ex-boyfriend pressured her to take abortion drugs he ordered online from a California doctor. His anger flared when Rosalie expressed her wishes to keep her child. Feeling she had no other option to secure her or her baby’s safety, Rosalie took the abortion drugs in front of him, planning to throw them up when she could escape. She was unable to, and she still mourns the loss of her child today.
No woman should feel coerced to have an abortion. ADF continues to stand up for women’s safety.
Supporting Those Who Support Life
Many people don’t mention the tragic effects abortion has on women and how women need real, holistic support when facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Pregnancy centers serve women when they often have nowhere else to turn. They offer support in the form of material resources such as food and clothing, medical care, and educational resources to equip women for motherhood, support them through their pregnancies, and empower them to choose life.
These nonprofits give more than just emotional support and material care, though. Jean Marie Davis, an ADF client and executive director of a pregnancy center in Vermont, said, “They saved my life. I am living proof that pregnancy centers love, serve, and commit ourselves to the men, women, and children of our communities who need our help.” They give themselves.
Pregnancy centers offer time and a listening ear to women who need support. Whether women are wrestling with choosing life for their child, recovering from an abortion, or need resources or education to support them through parenting, pregnancy centers are there.
ADF stands with pregnancy centers in legislatures and the courts as they serve women, speak about life-affirming options, and fight against unjust government harassment.
Standing Against Forced Marriages and Conversions
Arguably, the most important decision in a woman’s life is her faith. The second is often who she marries. Both of these decisions impact the rest of a woman’s life, and both demonstrate the importance of women being able to make these kinds of choices.
Sadly, women around the world are experiencing severe violations of their basic human right to make these choices. For example, in Pakistan, hundreds of girls from Christian and other religious minority families are abducted, forced to convert to Islam, and married off against their will.
To make matters worse, these girls often face abuse in their new living situation. Courts are often reluctant to intervene, and families are discouraged from reporting these crimes.
Thankfully, ADF International advocates for these girls, resulting in victories in which women and girls are freed and can return to their Christian faith. We are conducting advocacy to raise the minimum age of marriage in Pakistan with the goal of improving this dire situation across the country.
These women and girls should experience dignity, love, and freedom, not this horrific abuse. Women and girls should be able to live their faith, not be forced to convert against their will. ADF International is committed to fighting for these women and girls.
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