Susan Rinkunas
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Susan Rinkunas
@susanrinkunas.com
51K followers 2.4K following 9.6K posts
Journalist and cofounder @autonomynews.co‬. Seen in: Jezebel, The New Republic, The Guardian, Slate, The Nation, Democracy Docket. WGAE Council. From PA, now in BK

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Email: susanrinkunaswrites @gmail
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · Jun 4
Good morning, internet, and welcome to a new publication that @garnethenderson.com and I have been working on for months
autonomynews.co Autonomy News @autonomynews.co · Jun 4
Hello world! We are Autonomy News, a new worker-owned reproductive justice news outlet cofounded by @garnethenderson.com and @susanrinkunas.com.

Our reporting will never be paywalled, and you can support our work with a subscription to keep it free for everyone.
Welcome to Autonomy News
Welcome to Autonomy News, a new publication created and owned by two reproductive rights and justice journalists. We write about bodily autonomy and the attacks levied by politicians and activists wh...
www.autonomynews.co
susanrinkunas.com
New: In the first half of 2025, more than a quarter of abortions in the US were done with pills via telehealth. That portion has increased from 5% in early 2022 to 27%.

Ending telemedicine prescriptions of mifepristone nationwide is a key goal of anti-abortion movement
societyfp.org/research/wec...
screenshot of bar chart from Society for Family Planning. The key shows two colors: navy blue for in-person care (abortion procedures and pills), and yellow for telehealth abortions (pills) chart title: In the first six months of 2025, 27% of abortions were provided via telehealth 2022 Quarter 2 to 2025 Quarter 2, % in-person versus telehealth 2022 Q2 95% and 5% Q3 93% and 7% Q4 92% and 8% 2023 Q1 93% and 7% Q2 92% and 8% [Provision under US shield laws begins, #WeCount expands data collection] Q3 84% and 16% Q4 80% and 20% 2024 Q1 80% and 20% Q2 80% and 20% Q3 78% and 22% Q4 75% and 25% 2025 Q1 73% and 27% Q2 73% and 27% Source: Society of Family Planning, December 2025
December 9, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
amwhelan.bsky.social
HHS states that “assertions that the FDA is slow walking this review for political purposes are baseless...FDA’s comprehensive scientific reviews take the time necessary to get the science right.”

The problem? Comprehensive reviews have consistently shown the abortion pill is safe.
sbagen.bsky.social Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 22h
The best reading of this article: Trump is going to use FDA to restrict medication abortion, but he wants to wait until after the midterms so the Republicans don't experience blowback. But that just makes the midterms more important. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
FDA Slow Walking a Long-Awaited Abortion Pill Safety Study
The Food and Drug Administration has delayed a promised review of safety data for the abortion drug mifepristone at Commissioner Marty Makary’s request to put it off until after the midterm elections,...
www.bloomberg.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
sbagen.bsky.social
The best reading of this article: Trump is going to use FDA to restrict medication abortion, but he wants to wait until after the midterms so the Republicans don't experience blowback. But that just makes the midterms more important. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
FDA Slow Walking a Long-Awaited Abortion Pill Safety Study
The Food and Drug Administration has delayed a promised review of safety data for the abortion drug mifepristone at Commissioner Marty Makary’s request to put it off until after the midterm elections,...
www.bloomberg.com
December 8, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
autonomynews.co
ICYMI yesterday: Sign up for a new, paid annual subscription between now and December 31 and receive a free, signed copy of @gretchensisson.bsky.social’s book Relinquished!

www.autonomynews.co#/portal/
An image featuring the cover of Relinquished with the same text that’s in the post.
December 9, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
robinmarty.com
Man, between all the babies and formula we’ve got trapped inside our bodies no wonder we are too precious to be trusted with our own rights. We are hot commodities.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
RFK Jr: "All of the ingenuity of corporate America has not produced an infant formula that is superior in nutrition and all the qualities that we want to the infant formula that God made, which is the infant formula in a mother's breast."
December 8, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
autonomynews.co
It’s another very stacked roundup this week. But there is something fun amid all the bleak news:
Court Strikes Down Clinic ‘Buffer Zone,’ House Speaker Blocks Military IVF Coverage: December 8 News Roundup
Plus, sign up for a new annual subscription and receive a free, signed book!
www.autonomynews.co
December 8, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
juliannemcshane.bsky.social
Shouldn’t this piece come with a disclaimer that, as Nuzzi said on Instagram, Lisa Taddeo “helped with the book”…?

airmail.news/issues/2025-...
Olivia Nuzzi and the Sport of Kings
For Lisa Taddeo, a chance encounter with R.F.K. Jr.’s bird of prey sheds new light on the controversy that launched 1,000 think pieces and journalists to eat their own.
airmail.news
December 6, 2025 at 4:56 AM
susanrinkunas.com
Many people are saying
December 8, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
justinbaragona.bsky.social
Of course. Of course.

www.axios.com/2025/12/08/j...
Jared Kushner is part of Paramount's hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount is telling WBD shareholders that it has a smoother path to regulatory approval than does Netflix.
www.axios.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
susanrinkunas.com
ICYMI: A Planned Parenthood affiliate said allegations that its interim CEO harbors anti-abortion views were "baseless."

But sources tell @autonomynews.co the investigation didn't interview any former staff—or any current staff not hired by CEO. If it had, the board might have learned this:
Embattled Planned Parenthood Affiliate CEO Wanted to Halt Abortions
Sources level new allegations against Planned Parenthood Southeast interim CEO Mairo Akposé, who remains in her role after an investigation they call a "farce."
www.autonomynews.co
December 8, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
susanrinkunas.com
Akposé fired the entire public policy team, a reckless move ahead of 2026 when Georgia will consider a total abortion ban and Ossoff seeks reelection.

The board recently said allegations against leadership or the board were without merit—but announced that national would hire a GA state director 👀
screenshot 1/2 with some text highlighted in blue: The first accountability action listed in the statement is the launch of a nationwide search for a permanent CEO, suggesting Akposé won’t remain in the role long term. (The board also said she “will receive new key performance indicators for increased accountability.”) The next item is that the national organization's advocacy arm, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, will “take a more active role” in political work in Georgia and hire a state director. The previous Georgia state director was employed by PPSE. **Akposé laid that person off in September, along with other policy staff, citing budgetary constraints.** She cut this role despite the fact that this year could be critical in terms of preserving what little abortion access remains in Georgia: Sources who spoke with Autonomy News expect Georgia Republicans to pursue a total abortion ban in the session starting in January, superseding the state’s current six-week limit. There’s also a high-stakes Senate race in which Democrat Jon Ossoff is seeking reelection, a contest that could decide control of the chamber. screenshot 2/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks: Autonomy News asked PPFA when, if ever, it would step in to address concerns about decisions made by an affiliate board. A spokesperson said that while PPFA “can offer guidance and best practices related to hiring practices to affiliate boards and management, ultimately, the boards and management are the decision-makers related to personnel at their organizations.” We also asked the federation to explain why, if personnel decisions are made locally, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund will hire a Georgia state director. **The spokesperson said the Action Fund “has a mandate to protect and expand rights and access across the country, and where a local advocacy organization is unable to support those national goals, the Action Fund has a responsibility to step in.”** The spokesperson confirmed that, at this time, Georgia is the only state planned to have a director employed by the Action Fund, though that could change.
December 7, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
susanrinkunas.com
The abortion fund @yellowfund.bsky.social recently announced it would halt funding and support for callers with appointments at any Planned Parenthood affiliate—not just PPSE—due to the allegations. Yellowhammer said it was already working with indie clinics most as that was better for patients
screenshot 1/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks: screenshot 2/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks:
December 7, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
susanrinkunas.com
Employees had already made several explosive allegations public, like that Akposé said in a meeting that “we talk about abortion too much.” But sources tell me she was alarmingly open to slashing abortion services:
www.autonomynews.co/embattled-pl... @autonomynews.co
screenshot 1/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks: More alarmingly, Akposé suggested cutting abortion services. In Georgia—the only state in PPSE’s territory where abortion isn’t totally banned—PPSE had only offered medication abortion for some time. However, thanks to a grant, it resumed procedural abortions in early 2024, Cameron said. But after Akposé became interim CEO, Cameron recalled her asking, **“Why was it that we were able to stop procedures before? Why are we able to do them again? What's our return on investment for that?” Staff explained several times that if the affiliate halted the care, it would need to repay the grant, which was worth several hundred thousand dollars.** That was just one example of Akposé not seeming to understand how restricted grants work, a basic detail for a nonprofit administrator. screenshot 2/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks: In early 2025, Akposé also expressed that she would stop abortions if given the chance, in order to limit what she viewed as potential legal risk from providing the care. “She said that, **if there were such a time that PPFA would allow the affiliates to sign a waiver to not do abortion care, that she would sign it because she wouldn't want to take that risk on,”** Cameron recalled. Autonomy News was first to report the existence of such waivers in June. They would have allowed affiliates to halt abortions in order to remain in the Medicaid program under a federal budget provision “defunding” large abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. PPFA initially declined to confirm this reporting, only to say in September that waivers had been discussed but were now moot because of legal technicalities.
December 7, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
susanrinkunas.com
NEW: The controversial interim CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast floated ending in-clinic abortion procedures and spoke of dropping abortion care altogether.

Leader of the affiliate serving Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi remains in her role after an investigation that sources call a "farce."
Embattled Planned Parenthood Affiliate CEO Wanted to Halt Abortions
Sources level new allegations against Planned Parenthood Southeast interim CEO Mairo Akposé, who remains in her role after an investigation they call a "farce."
www.autonomynews.co
December 7, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
eliothiggins.bsky.social
Most discussions about “misinformation” treat the problem as if people simply don’t have good enough critical-thinking skills. It sounds intuitive, but it’s not entirely accurate. The problem isn’t just individual ignorance, it’s the structure of the information environment people are placed into.
December 7, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
newsjennifer.bsky.social
Let's not kid ourselves: this may have CBS News written all over it but it's political propaganda masquerading as journalism. If it was legit, then real reporters would be in the anchor chair, not Trump approved Bari Weiss.

My latest:

open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
CBS News journalists are sidelined for network's Erika Kirk town hall
If providing news and information were the goal then journalists like Gayle King or Norah O’Donnell would be asking the questions, not Trump approved pundit Bari Weiss.
open.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:22 AM
susanrinkunas.com
It’s our time, ceramic tree squad
Photo of a vintage ceramic Christmas tree with the little multicolor glass lights and an orange star on top
December 8, 2025 at 1:55 AM
susanrinkunas.com
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2025)
Photo of a vintage ceramic Christmas tree with the little glass lights and an orange star on top. Sitting nearby on my TV stand is my fluffy torbie-calcio kitten named Birdie. she looks very grumpy with flattened eyebrows like she might be about to cause trouble. But she is the sweetest angel baby and this is just funny to joke about
December 8, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
susanrinkunas.com
Hello good people of bluesky: Once again, I am a rent stabilized tenant in one of 90+ buildings set to be auctioned off because my slumlord hasn’t been paying his mortgages.

The Union of Pinnacle Tenants is seeking a delay in the auction and to have a voice in the process. Sign our petition here:
10,000 Rent Stabilized Tenants Deserve a Say Over Their Homes
The homes of more than 10,000 New Yorkers are now at stake. One of NYC's most notorious landlords, Pinnacle Group, has sent 93 buildings -- 5,000 rent-stabilized apartments -- to a bankruptcy auction....
actionnetwork.org
December 8, 2025 at 12:20 AM
susanrinkunas.com
And my Sunday! We have the same slumlord

Add your name and help us out: actionnetwork.org/petitions/10...
December 8, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
It’s been a busy day, but I want to draw your attention to this critically important paper by @jonshaffer.bsky.social and colleagues.

In it, they show that since its strict abortion ban was enacted, Texas has seen a significant increase in EMTALA violations involving obstetric emergencies.
Obstetric-Related Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act Violations and No Health Exception Bans
This difference-in-differences analysis examines changes in obstetric-related Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act violation filings following state and federal restrictions on abortion.
jamanetwork.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Reposted by Susan Rinkunas
caro130.bsky.social
Latest on Planned Parenthood SE affiliate debacle from @autonomynews.co. Whether this is targeted anti-abortion infiltration or the case of a useless board hiring an incompetent exec, PPFA & PPSE's major donors/foundation funders ought to be raising hell about it.
www.autonomynews.co/embattled-pl...
Embattled Planned Parenthood Affiliate CEO Wanted to Halt Abortions
Sources level new allegations against Planned Parenthood Southeast interim CEO Mairo Akposé, who remains in her role after an investigation they call a "farce."
www.autonomynews.co
December 7, 2025 at 3:24 PM
susanrinkunas.com
Yes, this is an abortion fund saying on the record that Planned Parenthood Southeast was having Alabama and Mississippi patients travel to two different states to get abortion care—Georgia and North Carolina—instead of making one trip to a less restrictive state
www.autonomynews.co/embattled-pl...
susanrinkunas.com Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 2d
The abortion fund @yellowfund.bsky.social recently announced it would halt funding and support for callers with appointments at any Planned Parenthood affiliate—not just PPSE—due to the allegations. Yellowhammer said it was already working with indie clinics most as that was better for patients
screenshot 1/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks: screenshot 2/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks:
December 7, 2025 at 5:35 PM
susanrinkunas.com
Yes, this is an interim CEO of a Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization, reportedly not understanding how restricted grants work:
susanrinkunas.com Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 2d
Employees had already made several explosive allegations public, like that Akposé said in a meeting that “we talk about abortion too much.” But sources tell me she was alarmingly open to slashing abortion services:
www.autonomynews.co/embattled-pl... @autonomynews.co
screenshot 1/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks: More alarmingly, Akposé suggested cutting abortion services. In Georgia—the only state in PPSE’s territory where abortion isn’t totally banned—PPSE had only offered medication abortion for some time. However, thanks to a grant, it resumed procedural abortions in early 2024, Cameron said. But after Akposé became interim CEO, Cameron recalled her asking, **“Why was it that we were able to stop procedures before? Why are we able to do them again? What's our return on investment for that?” Staff explained several times that if the affiliate halted the care, it would need to repay the grant, which was worth several hundred thousand dollars.** That was just one example of Akposé not seeming to understand how restricted grants work, a basic detail for a nonprofit administrator. screenshot 2/2 with some text highlighted in blue, denoted by two asterisks: In early 2025, Akposé also expressed that she would stop abortions if given the chance, in order to limit what she viewed as potential legal risk from providing the care. “She said that, **if there were such a time that PPFA would allow the affiliates to sign a waiver to not do abortion care, that she would sign it because she wouldn't want to take that risk on,”** Cameron recalled. Autonomy News was first to report the existence of such waivers in June. They would have allowed affiliates to halt abortions in order to remain in the Medicaid program under a federal budget provision “defunding” large abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. PPFA initially declined to confirm this reporting, only to say in September that waivers had been discussed but were now moot because of legal technicalities.
December 7, 2025 at 4:18 PM