To the debate moderators: Please make sure this issue is addressed during the September 10th Presidential Debate on ABC by asking the candidates what they would do to protect pregnant workers on the job.

As inconceivable as it sounds, in this United States of America, even 250 years after our country’s inception, we the people born of inalienable rights are being fired from our jobs for committing one heinous crime against capitalism – being pregnant. Technically illegal though it may be, the country is swelling with stories of standout employees being dismissed from their jobs because they dared to ‘choose life’.

"I was fired for being pregnant."

"I was passed over on a promotion for being pregnant."

"My hours got reduced after I announced my pregnancy."

"My boss discouraged me from applying for FMLA and fired me a month before I gave birth. I’m now homeless with a 4 month old and unable to find work."

"My boss got mad at me that I was so sick during my first trimester that they fired me."

"I was laid off soon after asking for maternity leave."

"I was micromanaged during my pregnancy and was written up twice and then fired."

"I was fired during my second trimester from my office job. My boss didn’t like that I was sick often during my first trimester."

"I got pregnant and sick and I was fired, people teamed up against me that didn’t like me and created lies and accused me. I told him to roll the cameras back but instead they refused because their intention was to get rid of me because I was six months pregnant."

"The company let me go saying that I had too many no call no-shows although I filed on time the time off sheet after six weeks, I tried to call to see if I could get put back on the schedule and they told me now to call staffing and I still don’t have my job."

"I was told that I was done, I was suffering with extreme depression from postpartum. I also had a C-section, and then I was fired."

"I lost my job prior to finding out I was pregnant. Once I started to show, interviews became very hard. I was offered a job and then once [the company] found out I was pregnant they ghosted me. "

"I was let go from my job on March 28, 2024, while 9 weeks pregnant. After a recent traumatic ectopic pregnancy and emergency surgery, I hadn't told my employer about my new pregnancy due to fears it might not be viable. Being fired is difficult at any time, but losing your job while pregnant adds intense anxiety and instability during a vulnerable time."

These are a small portion of the testimonies that we’ve received during a short window of polling Americans about their employment experiences while pregnant. After a mere two weeks and an outpouring of responses, we found that more than 200 women suspected that they were fired for being pregnant.

Between the stories these brave women have shared with us, plus the ongoing Reddit threads showing countless mothers expressing similar stories, plus the anecdotal stories of our friends, family members, former coworkers that experienced the same thing, a dangerous tale is being weaved.

We know that directly firing us is not the only way we push moms out of work. Inflexibility in the schedules, lack of access to pumping spaces for breastfeeding moms, giving our clients to our coworkers to maintain continuity around maternity leave, employers are endlessly creative in finding new ways to screw over women.

New moms and their newborn babies are ending up unhoused, stuck in violent households, or unable to make ends meet after losing their jobs due to pregnancy. Across the job market, from grocery store clerks to hospital physicians, we’re left with young families with nowhere to work and no one willing to hire them.

Since women joined the workforce, this is something that we’ve all known too damn well. We counsel our girlfriends and families, passing on the sage advice.

“Don’t tell them you are pregnant until you’ve secured an offer.” “Wait as long as you can to announce your pregnancy.” “Score as many points at work as you can to avoid retaliation after you ask for leave.” Es lo que callamos las mujeres. (It’s what we keep quiet as women.)

In a country where corporations have more money and influence than real people, women often face a tough choice: parent or paycheck.

Despite pregnant workers being a protected class under anti-discrimination clauses, the rate at which we’ve received and collected testimonies demonstrates how rampant the problem is, and those who have sought legal recourse can tell you just how impotent those anti-discrimination clauses are.

In the United States 80% of women become mothers between the ages of 35 and 45, how many mothers do you know that are victims of discrimination in the workplace? How many experiences can you recount happening to you?

It's time to take a stand. This toxic and all-too-common practice has been accepted for far too long, but we're blowing the lid off it. We're calling on everyone, and especially moms who have experienced this injustice to sign our letter.

We're taking this issue to the ABC Presidential Debate on September 10th, demanding that the highest office in the country finally take notice and start creating real, lasting protections for pregnant workers.

Our voice matters—let's make it heard. We want to show that we are not tolerating this discrimination and have the numbers to prove it.

But here’s a secret – we’re done keeping it quiet as women. When I talk to women about their experiences, they tell me that they are ready to “hang the badge of honor” and that the buck stops with this generation. I hear them say that my daughter, my niece, my neighbor, hell my son will not go through this.

We are ready to tell our stories, and fight for real changes that include national mandatory paid leave for at least 6 months, universal childcare, and real worker protections for pregnant workers. And it starts with us telling our story.

Whether you were fired, pushed out, made to feel small, or your hours were cut, you were not given that promotion or even got a pay cut, you are not alone, Mama. This happened, in one way, shape or another to me as well.