How does a tyrant-killing Israelite woman of no known prominence drive a tent peg through “girl-boss feminism” and the “tradwife” movement? LEAD LIKE JAEL is out TODAY.

“The women who flourish are not those who win the girlboss game, perfect the tradwife aesthetic, or embrace Marxism’s spiritual statism. They are those who are rooted in genuine religious community, mentored by wise older women, and protected by faithful men.” @emlwaters

“Like Burke, I began with the recognition that neither girlboss feminism nor the online tradwife movement has the answer women are looking for. But where Burke turned to Noam Chomsky, and ultimately Marxism, I turned to the Bible.” @emlwaters

"Our loose approach to IVF has left millions of human embryos in indefinite storage, many destined to be discarded." We're delighted to see our creative director Neel and host @emlwaters speak with @DailySignal about the Trump admin's pro-life efforts on embryo adoption. Link 👇

The future is neither girl-boss nor online trad-wife, and it’s no coincidence that “Lead Like Jael” and the left’s blockbuster novel “Yesteryear” both ask “what’s next?” As I explore in @firstthingsmag, “But if the support doesn’t come from wise older women and strong godly husbands, government will increasingly step in. Burke senses this, telling Lizzy Goodman of the New York Times, “We were all sold a bill of false goods, and that’s true for conservative women and it’s true for liberal women. . . . The point of the book is not that one wins.” When asked by Hanna Rosin on Radio Atlanticwhat comes next, Burke answered: “If you don’t wanna be a girlboss or a tradwife, what’s the option? And the option is Marxism.” Zohran Mamdani’s Marxism, to be precise—the kind that attracted over 80 percent of the under-thirty female vote in the 2025 mayoral election. Still, it strikes me that no political framework addresses the loneliness, pride, or spiritual vacancy that Natalie embodies so viscerally, and that so many readers recognize in themselves.”

In Caro Claire Burke’s “Yesteryear,” her “protagonist may be dressed in tradwife clothing, but her novel reveals far more about the spiritual lostness of secular women than about the religious women she set out to critique.” Me in @firstthingsmag firstthings.com/neither-girl…

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Thank you for highlighting! Great IVF resources 👇🏻

Their first baby may not be born until 35, but my guess is that they are conceiving many, many children long before then… we’re just not meeting them due to abortion pills, birth control, and maybe even early IVF.

Two must-listen podcasts on IVF: IVF-FYI by .@ThemBeforeUs Rethinking Fertility by .@rtfertility / .@emlwaters Both are clear, accessible, and data-rich without getting lost in scientific minutia. If you’re unsure where IVF fits in your worldview, start here.

I couldn’t agree more 🤗 Follow along on substack for even more on all things ‘rethinking fertility’ delivered straight to your inbox. rethinkingfertility.substack…

Incredible pro-life win from HHS on embryo adoption 🙌 “Embryo adoption should ‘serve the needs of a child already in existence, offering that child the opportunity for life within a stable and loving family,’ the funding notice says.” “Heritage Foundation family policy expert Emma Waters praised the revision for ‘reframing embryo adoption not as a treatment for infertility, but as an act of charity toward a child already in existence who is in need of a loving home.’ ‘The uncomfortable truth is that our loose approach to IVF has left millions of human embryos in indefinite storage, many of whom are destined to be discarded,’ she told The Daily Signal.” “Waters said the NOFO gets the response to the frozen embryo crisis right by ‘requiring best-interest-of-the-child assessments and the same adoption-level standards we expect anywhere else, including home studies, background checks, reference checks, and post-placement supervision by a qualified caseworker.’” dailysignal.com/2026/06/10/t…

PRO-LIFE WIN: Trump's HHS revised an embryo adoption grant program to require recipients to treat frozen embryos created through IVF as human children who deserve a "loving family." Grant funding now cannot be used to support the discarding or destruction of human embryos. While previous administrations have prioritized adults in the embryo adoption program, the Trump-era HHS has shifted the grant opportunity toward a child-centric framework, a senior HHS official told @DailySignal. Trump has made several moves to expand IVF, but this is the first time the admin is addressing the procedure’s downfalls. Embryo adoption should “serve the needs of a child already in existence, offering that child the opportunity for life within a stable and loving family,” the funding notice says. dailysignal.com/2026/06/10/t…

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"Remote work is the biggest innovation for ambitious women with children since the dishwasher." Citing @FamStudies research: Mothers of young children who worked full-time from home spent 2.4 additional hours with their children Excellent @katebachwsj @WSJFreeEx

Anyone found to be involved with birth tourism in any way should be permanently banned from entering the U.S. (this includes both staff of the organizations and "birth tourist" mothers)

SCOOP: The State Department has uncovered several "birth tourism networks" in West Africa, Europe, and North Africa, where embassies found evidence of plans to facilitate individuals traveling to the U.S. to give birth. dailywire.com/news/exclusive…

We love @emlwaters and are thankful for all her work in the bioethics, surrogacy, and fertility conversations. This podcast will be a great resource, check it out!

Watch now on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. youtube.com/@rethinkingferti…

Technology doesn't just change what we do. It changes how we think. 🎙️ In this episode of Rethinking Fertility, @emlwaters explores how reproductive technologies are reshaping our understanding of marriage, sex, and children.