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Last summer, the commissioners of Gwinnett County gave Georgia Wellness $450k despite strong objections at public meetings, and serious allegations of medical licensing issues and false advertising. But this year, GWG is not on the list of organizations commissioners will consider for funding.

One Crisis Pregnancy Center Has Received $1.1 Million in Federal Housing Funds Since 2020

A Georgia anti-abortion organization is building a maternity home. Public opposition surfaced allegations of false advertising and medical licensing issues—and resulted in cease and desist letters.

autonomynews.co

Autonomy News @autonomynews.co · last wk.

NEW: The Georgia crisis pregnancy center I investigated earlier this year for @autonomynews.co will *not* receive federal housing funds this year. The center—which says it's opening a maternity home—had requested $630k in HUD funds this year.

One Crisis Pregnancy Center Has Received $1.1 Million in Federal Housing Funds Since 2020

A Georgia anti-abortion organization is building a maternity home. Public opposition surfaced allegations of false advertising and medical licensing issues—and resulted in cease and desist letters.

autonomynews.co

Thanks for the shoutout, @strictscrutiny.bsky.social! Get the reporting @leahlitman.bsky.social is reading sent to your inbox: www.autonomynews.co#/portal

screenshot 1 of 2 from Strict Scrutiny's 7/27/26 episode where host Leah Litman shouts out Autonomy News in the favorite things segment:
"Also recommend Autonomy News, the new website"
link: https://crooked.com/podcast/dude-process-not-due-process/

screenshot 2 of 2 from Strict Scrutiny's 7/27/26 episode where host Leah Litman shouts out Autonomy News in the favorite things segment:
"they're doing important reporting."
link: https://crooked.com/podcast/dude-process-not-due-process/

Autonomy News @autonomynews.co · last wk.

The “study” was published in a journal owned by the anti-abortion organization that sued the FDA in an attempt to remove mifepristone from the market in 2022.

Anti-Abortion Groups Tout Shady ‘Study’ on Mifepristone in Drinking Water: July 27 News Roundup

Plus, what you missed on Autonomy News last week.

autonomynews.co

Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · last wk.

Support paywall-free, worker-owned journalism that holds power to account. We got 5 paid subscribers to @autonomynews.co last week—thank you AA, MF, RM, AP, and LG! Can we get at least 5 more this week?

Support Autonomy News

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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · last wk.

The Boulder Police Department said they're addressing the incident but refused to clarify what that means. We asked if they'd create guidance on whether officers should pray with the subjects of a complaint. Their response: “We don’t have any further to add beyond that we’re addressing it.”

Autonomy News@autonomynews.co · last wk.

An activist said Tuesday was "kill day" at RISE Collective, an all-trimester clinic run by former staff of Boulder Abortion Clinic, which long opponents targeted. Boulder Police said protestors asked to pray for the officers but knows how it may be "perceived" www.autonomynews.co/cops-prayed-...

Autonomy News screenshot 1 of 2:

After Tuesday’s protest, White Rose Colorado shared photos showing two police officers appearing to lower their heads in prayer with Bateman. The group captioned the post: “This is the 3rd Tuesday in a row that law enforcement has been called on us, but they have been very friendly and this week even stopped and prayed with us for a bit.”

[embed of instagram post showing Sean Bateman holding his hat and lowering his head in prayer on a sidewalk. Two uniformed officers stand in from of him doing the same.

Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · last wk.

ICYMI: After Colorado abortion clinic staff called police about threatening language posted on Instagram, officers were photographed praying with protestors—including the man who wrote that it was "kill day." It’s the latest instance of cops praying outside US clinics while on duty @autonomynews.co

Cops Stopped to Pray With Anti-Abortion Activists Outside Colorado Clinic

An abortion opponent wrote online that it was “kill day” at a clinic that provides later abortions. Boulder police showed up, then prayed with the author of the post.

autonomynews.co

Autonomy News@autonomynews.co · last wk.

@susanrinkunas.com on the latest instance of a problem I've heard about time and again: When abortion clinic staff and volunteers experience threats and harassment, they're often afraid to call police because a. cops make everyone less safe and b. they're often on anti-abortion activists' side

NEW: After abortion clinic staff called police about threatening language posted on social media, officers were photographed praying with protestors—including the person who made the threatening post. It’s just the latest instance of officers praying outside US abortion clinics while on duty

Autonomy News @autonomynews.co · last wk.

Cops Stopped to Pray With Anti-Abortion Activists Outside Colorado Clinic

An abortion opponent wrote online that it was “kill day” at a clinic that provides later abortions. Boulder police showed up, then prayed with the author of the post.

autonomynews.co

The Virginia ruling comes ahead of a September hearing in the Louisiana case where the state is asking the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to end telehealth mifepristone nationwide—yes, even in states that protect abortion access. @autonomynews.co

Supreme Court Maintains Mifepristone Access, But Thomas Calls for Comstock Act Prosecutions

The good news is that nothing changes today. The bad news is that access to mifepristone isn’t safe.

autonomynews.co

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 2w ago

NEW: A federal judge ruled that FDA restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone are scientifically unjustified in suit filed by independent clinics—says 2023 REMS is unlawful, FDA must reconsider. Louisiana suing FDA for allowing telehealth Rx in same reg storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

screenshot from page 1 of the opinion:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
CHARLOTTESVILLE DIVISION
WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH )
ALLIANCE, et al., )
)
Plaintiffs, ) Civil Action No.: 3:23-CV-00019
)
v. )
)
UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ) By: Hon. Robert S. Ballou
ADMINISTRATION, et al., ) United States District Judge
)
Defendants. ))
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Since 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that mifepristone is a safe and effective medication for early pregnancy termination. Each time the FDA has reviewed mifepristone, it has reaffirmed its safety and efficacy.1 But the FDA has consistently imposed certain prescribing and dispensing restrictions, known as Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (“REMS”), because it concluded such restrictions were necessary to ensure that the drug’s benefits outweighed its risks. The 2023 REMS imposed by the FDA on mifepristone require that (1) prescribing pharmacies be specially certified, (2) prescribing clinicians be specially certified, and (3) prescribers and patients sign a form acknowledging the treatment and
its risks. Dkt. 78-7 at 389–92. Abortion providers in Virginia, Kansas, and Montana brought this case to challenge the 2023 REMS as excessively restrictive, unwarranted, and inconsistent with
the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. The issue before this....

docket
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67347356/whole-womans-health-alliance-v-united-states-food-and-drug-administration/?order_by=desc
two page order https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.128384/gov.uscourts.vawd.128384.96.0.pdf

screenshot from page 47 of the opinion:

CONCLUSION
The REMS modifications are arbitrary and capricious. The FDA has steadfastly found, over the past quarter century, that mifepristone is a safe and effective medication. The explanation for the REMS and ETASUs imposed by the FDA in 2023 does not identify the risk alleviated by the restrictions. Nor does the FDA explain how, without these restrictions, prescribing the drug becomes an intolerable risk which would require withdrawal of the drug from the market. The FDA failed to reasonably justify its 2023 REMS modification decision, disregarding substantial contrary evidence from the medical community and comparative regulatory data, and inadequately addressing the burdens imposed on providers and patients. While Plaintiffs’ claim that the FDA exceeded its statutory authority fails, the Agency’s failure to consider relevant evidence and provide a reasoned explanation renders the 2023 REMS modification arbitrary and capricious in violation of the APA and the Fifth Amendment.

two page order
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.128384/gov.uscourts.vawd.128384.96.0.pdf
...the Court DIRECTS the parties to file a joint status report within 10 days of this order setting forth their positions on how this case should proceed as to the constitutional claims. The remand order will be entered following determination of the status of the constitutional claims.

This is why gender affirming care and abortion are part of the same fight for bodily autonomy. You ignore what's happening to trans people at your peril.

Garnet Henderson@garnethenderson.com · 2w ago

Trump's DOJ has accused gender-affirming care providers of colluding with drug manufacturers to violate federal law. In March, I warned this argument could easily be used against abortion providers. Today, Josh Hawley did exactly this in a letter urging DOJ to investigate abortion info site Plan C.

Autonomy News @autonomynews.co · 2w ago

Senator Josh Hawley is shaking down acting AG Todd Blanche on mifepristone. Blanche can’t lose a single committee vote in his quest to become the country’s top attorney:

Hawley Demands Criminal Investigation of Abortion Pill Info Site From Comstock-Curious Blanche: July 20 News Roundup

Plus, what you missed on Autonomy News last week.

autonomynews.co

As @garnethenderson.com and I explain, some Democrats in Congress wanted to repeal Comstock ahead of the 2024 election. But powerful repro groups worried it could affect the outcome of a lawsuit and Biden's DOJ claimed it needed the law to prosecute cases involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM)

Trump’s Attorney General Nominee Just Opened the Door to a National Abortion Ban

Under questioning from Sen. Ted Cruz, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche committed to reviewing Biden-era guidance on the Comstock Act.

autonomynews.co

ICYMI: Far right activists have been trying since Dobbs to revive a 19th-century anti-obscenity law to ban abortion pills—if not all abortions. Trump's pick for AG said last week he'd review a legal opinion on the 1873 Comstock Act, which could greenlight prosecutions under the law @autonomynews.co

Trump’s Attorney General Nominee Just Opened the Door to a National Abortion Ban

Under questioning from Sen. Ted Cruz, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche committed to reviewing Biden-era guidance on the Comstock Act.

autonomynews.co

Garnet Henderson@garnethenderson.com · 2w ago

Sen. Josh Hawley asked acting AG Todd Blanche to open a criminal investigation into @plancpills.bsky.social, which provides information about how people can get abortion pills in all 50 states. Plan C doesn't mail or sell pills! bsky.app/profile/garn...

Here is Hawley's letter, which calls Plan C a "left-wing dark-money operation" and accuses it of violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDCA regulates manufacturers, not info services like Plan C, but Hawley alleges Plan C is engaged in conspiracy with mifepristone manufacturer Danco Labs.

Dear Acting Attorney General Blanche:
I write to refer to the Department of Justice new information my office has received concerning an organized international effort to profit from the violation of state and federal law. I believe these activities warrant criminal investigation.
At the center of the effort is an entity called Plan C, a left-wing dark-money operation that styles itself a "public health information campaign" but functions, in practice, as the referral and logistics hub for shipping abortion drugs into states whose laws prohibit it.

Plan C does not operate alone. Danco Laboratories, a large and wildly profitable manufacturer of mifepristone, lists Plan C among the patient resources on its own website, steering prospective customers to an organization that instructs Americans on how to break the law.' On information and belief, GenBioPro, the generic manufacturer, maintains a similar referral relationship with Plan C. The Department is well positioned to determine the full extent of these relationships, including any financial ties.

Consider what Plan C does, much of it in its own words:

*Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas each specifically prohibit providers from mailing abortion drugs to patients. Plan C nonetheless directs residents of all three states to obtain pills by mail, including from two foreign clinics, that ship mifepristone to U.S. addresses from abroad. Plan C warns that using these clinics carries "possible legal risk."

*Plan C likewise directs residents of those states to e-commerce websites that sell and ship dangerous pills with no prescription, no identification, and no medical consultation of any kind. By Plan C's own description, these websites "sell generic abortion pills that are not regulated or inspected by the US government," and "Plan C tests these websites by buying pills from them.”

I know I'm a broken record about this, but at @autonomynews.co we are really catching stories and angles other outlets are missing. We need your help to keep doing it! Subscribe or tip today!

Support Autonomy News

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Plan C has thus far been pretty undeterred by legal attacks—we had a piece from @susanrinkunas.com about this late last year. It remains to be seen what might happen if the DOJ comes after them.

Exclusive: Plan C Doubles Down on Abortion Pill Info Amid Political Attacks

The online abortion pill guide has been redesigned to make it even easier to learn where to get pills, including at no cost.

autonomynews.co

[Women on Web: This is a clinic outside the US that prescribes and mails pills to US addresses and provides medical support.]

Plan C coaches its users on how to evade the law. Its website instructs users to protect their "digital footprint" against investigations, recommending privacy-enabled browsers, virtual private networks, and encrypted email. Its own FAQ acknowledges that people face legal jeopardy for obtaining pills through the services it lists and tells readers it is "up to every individual to decide what level of legal risk they are willing to take."
Plan C steers women to providers willing to mail pills as late as fourteen weeks into pregnancy. That is a month beyond the ten-week limit in FDA's own approved labeling and risk-mitigation program, and far beyond the limits enacted by states such as Florida and Iowa.
This conduct squarely implicates federal criminal law. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits introducing unapproved and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and dispensing prescription drugs without a valid prescription. Criminal anti-smuggling statutes likewise cover the importation of these unregulated foreign pills. And an organization implicates federal conspiracy statutes and aiding-and-abetting provisions when it openly announces its intent to deliver drugs into states whose laws forbid it, coordinating the suppliers, vendors, and carriers needed to accomplish that end.
I therefore respectfully refer this matter to the Department to open a criminal investigation into Plan C, its relationship with potential co-conspirator manufacturers, and the network of suppliers it promotes. That includes the foreign clinics and no-prescription vendors shipping drugs into the US.
I appreciated your recent comments before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the right of the states to enforce their duly enacted laws, as well as your promise that the Department will protect vulnerable women from criminals who would prey upon them…