Equity Forward to Sunset Operations, Leaving a Lasting Legacy of Accountability and Transparency
After deep reflection and careful consideration, Equity Forward has made the decision to sunset operations on March 31, 2025.
Since 2017, Equity Forward has been exposing the forces working against gender and reproductive equity and equipping the sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice (SRHRJ) movements with the investigative research needed to hold them accountable.
Equity Forward leaves behind a powerful legacy of oversight, transparency, and action. Its extensive research and resources have illuminated the growing threats to reproductive freedom and gender equity in the U.S. and beyond. As the first organization solely focused on opposition and investigative research in the SRHRJ space, Equity Forward filled a critical gap—tracking harmful policies, uncovering hidden agendas, and providing meticulously sourced, fact-checked research to strengthen advocacy and accountability efforts.
Over the years, Equity Forward has worked with countless partners to integrate investigative research into their advocacy efforts, ensuring that the fight against disinformation and extremist attacks on reproductive and gender justice will continue.
“Equity Forward was created to ensure that those working against reproductive and gender justice were exposed and held to account,” said Equity Forward’s director, Ashley Underwood. “While this chapter is coming to a close, the need for opposition research and accountability remains as important as ever. We have been fortunate to partner with many organizations over the years as they have incorporated opposition research into their programs and campaigns."
"The work will endure through the advocates who will continue to fight disinformation and extremist attacks on gender and reproductive justice in the face of unprecedented challenges. The staff and advisory board members who have been part of Equity Forward over the years are proud of the legacy we leave behind.”
Equity Forward's Legacy of Research and Impact
Equity Forward was founded in 2017, in response to the first Trump administration. It launched its inaugural campaign, HHS Watch, to track the anti-abortion connections of top appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services. Over time, the organization expanded its research to other government agencies in both the Trump and Biden administrations, and to broader issue areas, including:
Pro-Lies.org – Profiling anti-abortion organizations influencing policy at state, federal, and international levels;
Global Spotlight – Investigating government agencies and organizations shaping reproductive rights worldwide;
Light Inside – Examining the impact of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security on detained populations’ access to reproductive health care;
Forward Thinking – Covering intersectional issues in SRHRJ through Equity Forward’s blog;
Anti-Abortion Center Accountability – Equity Forward’s most prolific work focused on tracking public funding of anti-abortion centers (AACs). By procuring and examining public records and data, Equity Forward was able to provide deep insight into the funding, operations and misuse of tax dollars for AACs in the more than 20 states that have allocated funds to these programs. Its comprehensive funding database revealed that more than $1 billion in public funds have gone to AACs since state funding programs began and led many policy changes, including the defunding of Alternatives to Abortion programs in several states. The organization’s research informed collaborative campaigns with partners that shifted the public understanding of these centers' true agenda, prompting a change to Associated Press Stylebook’s guidance in 2023 that instructed reporters to use the term “anti-abortion center” instead of “crisis pregnancy center.”