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Susan Rinkunas

@susanrinkunas.com
54K followers 2.7K following 13K posts

Journalist: abortion and politics. Cofounder @autonomynews.co‬. Seen in The New Republic, The Guardian, Slate, Mother Jones, MSNOW, Jezebel. WGAE Council. From PA, now in BK susan@autonomynews.co Signal susanrinkunas.73 linktr.ee/susanrinkunas

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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 09/10/2026
The RFK letter claimed that the Biden administration gave a “lack of adequate consideration” to the safety risks of allowing mifepristone prescriptions via telehealth. Louisiana cited that EXACT language in a lawsuit against the FDA, and judge cited as reason the state would win. @autonomynews.co
screenshot from Louisiana v FDA complaint, filed October 6, 2025
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952.1.0_3.pdf
13. Defendants recently admitted that there was a “lack of adequate consideration” of the safety risks “underlying the prior REMS approvals,” including the decision to “remov[e] the in-person dispensing requirement.”4 Defendant Secretary Kennedy went so far as to concede that the “Biden administration removed mifepristone’s in-person dispensing rule without studying the safety risks.”5
14. Second, as Judge Ho recognized in Alliance II, the 2023 REMS also is contrary to law because it “violate[s] the Comstock Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1461–62, and [thus is] ‘not in accordance with law’ for that reason as well.” Id. at 267 (Ho, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (quoting 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A)). Among other things, the Comstock Act prohibits the mailing of “[e]very article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.” 18 U.S.C. § 1461. The Act also prohibits the use of “any express company or other common carrier or interactive computer service” for “any drug, medicine, article, or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.” Id.
§ 1462. Each one of these provisions covers, of course, precisely the mailing of mifepristone that the Biden Administration intentionally sought to facilitate through the 2023 REMS. So for that additional reason, the Court need only cite Judge Ho’s concurrence to “set aside the [2023 REMS] because it
4 Ex. 110, Letter from Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Health and Human Services, to Attorneys General at 1 (Sept. 19, 2025). 
link to letter https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Fda_Hhs_Letter-1.pdf
5 Ex. 108, Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy), X (Oct. 2, 2025, 5:44 PM), perma.cc/Q2SA-BJKSruling from Judge David Joseph on 4/7/26 pausing the Louisiana case until the completion of the FDA review and ordering an update on progress in six months, ie 10/7/26.

The Alliance III court’s reasoning is therefore due strong consideration in weighing Plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits.
Further, HHS Secretary Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Makary essentially acknowledged APA [Administrative Procedure Act] procedural deficits with respect to mifepristone in their September 19, 2025, letter, stating that FDA’s intention to review the mifepristone... [page break]
regulatory framework was precipitated by “the **lack of adequate consideration** underlying the prior REMS approvals” and recent safety concerns. [Doc. 1-110]. Thus, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their 2023 REMS challenge.

[Not shown in screenshot] the FDA said in a filing this week they expect data in by December and review to be complete "not later than March"
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952.278.0.pdf
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-says-will-complete-safety-review-abortion-pill-march-rcna602161
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 09/10/2026
In emails obtained via FOIA request, Health Department staff said they "welcome[d] WH feedback" on the RFK letter before White House staffers shared edits and requested “a briefing on the status of the FDA [mifepristone] study design and proposed timelines.” storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
screenshot of heavily redacted email chain about a letter that RFK Jr and former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary would send to Republican Attorneys General. 
email sent on September 3, 2025 at 11:17 am from someone at EOP. “EOP” stands for “Executive Office of the President” and “eop.gov” is the email address for the White House. 

Subject: RE: Reevaluation of Mifepristone
Hi all,
Please see attached edits from [name redacted]. Let me know if we need to discuss - can do a call this evening.
I would also like to request a briefing on the status of the FDA study design and proposed timelines. Thank you!
Best,
[name redacted]

HHS staffer replies to EOP address at 10:52 pm:
Thank you [name redacted]. We are reviewing this and will get this letter out asap. [name redacted], could you suggest some times for next week to meet with [name redacted]; the study. [name redacted] and I will do our best to accommodate.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 09/10/2026
NEW: An abortion provider suing the FDA for restricting the drug mifepristone obtained emails showing White House staffers meddling in statements about abortion pills. WH made edits to a letter RFK Jr sent to red-state AGs seeking crackdown @autonomynews.co storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
screenshot with some text highlighted in yellow
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA

WHOLE WOMAN’S HEALTH ALLIANCE, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, et al.,
Defendants.
Case No. 3:23-cv-00019-RSB

PLAINTIFFS’ REPLY MEMORANDUM IN FURTHER SUPPORT OF
RETAINING JURISDICTION PENDING REMAND TO FDA

Defendants do not dispute that this Court has the authority to retain jurisdiction over this case pending the completion of FDA’s mifepristone review. See ECF Doc. 101 at 4–5 (citing cases). Nor do they dispute that it would be improper for FDA to disregard the statutory factors that should guide its mifepristone review in favor of political considerations. Instead, **Defendants disparage Plaintiffs’ concern about political interference with FDA’s review as “unfounded speculation.”** ECF Doc. 102 at 4. **Far from it — Plaintiffs have the receipts.**
Last week, in response to a FOIA request, Plaintiffs’ counsel received a production of FDA documents that included **a September 3, 2025 email from an “eop.gov” email address asking FDA and HHS for “a briefing on the status of the FDA [mifepristone] study design and proposed timelines.” Exhibit A. “EOP” stands for “Executive Office of the President” and “eop.gov” is the email address for the White House.** An HHS employee agreed the agencies would “do our best to accommodate.” Id. This document confirms that the threat of political interference with FDA’s review of the scientific evidence is very real. This Court should exercise its authority to retain...

full docket
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67347356/whole-womans-health-alliance-v-united-states-food-and-drug-administration/?order_by=desc
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 08/10/2026
News for legal sickos: Top anti-abortion attorney Erik Baptist has left Alliance Defending Freedom. He was working on cases like Louisiana v FDA, Seyb v Labrador (Idaho), and the runaway surrogate trying to get custody of a California couple's child. Says his "next chapter" starts in November
Erik Baptist LinkedIn Post from September 22, 2026:
https://lnkd.in/p/g3jXGY-g
This past Friday, I snapped this photo before walking through these doors for the last time as an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. It was a bittersweet decision for me to leave ADF after more than four blessed years.

From holding the FDA accountable to protecting pregnancy centers, my colleagues and I worked on the most significant pro-life Supreme Court cases during my tenure. It was an unparalleled experience, leading to being named one of Washingtonian magazine's Most Influential People Shaping Policy in Washington in 2024, 2025, and 2026. That recognition belongs to the whole team—who helped make the work both meaningful and joyful. 

My next career chapter promises to be my most ambitious yet. That journey starts in November. Until then, I plan to unwind a little, publish a Catholic children's book (to kickstart a series), build a dining room table, launch a few apps (see prior "vibe coding" post), and invest more time with the family.

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam!
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 08/10/2026
Moments before this, Ellie patted my bob 😭
Photo of me, a white woman with short blonde hair, and my friend, white woman with curly brown hair, plus the greatest mascot in the world: Ellie the elephant of the WNBA’s New York liberty. She was escorted around the watch party with the head of The Stompaz, a Black man making a peace sign in photo. If you go to the games, he’s a legend. 
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 08/10/2026
NEW: in court-ordered update on the status of a bogus FDA “review” of the abortion drug mifepristone, DOJ says data coming in December with review complete “not later than March 2027.” Footnote says they could restrict access as data comes in 👀 litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/u...
Case 6:25-cv-01491-DCJ-DJA Document 278
Filed 10/07/26
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Page 1 of 5 PagelD #:
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
LAFAYETTE DIVISION
THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
V.
U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, et al.,
No. 6:25-cv-01491-DCJ-DJA
Federal Defendants,
and
DANCO LABORATORIES, et al.,
Intervenor Defendants.
FEDERAL DEFENDANTS' STATUS REPORT
On April 7, 2026, this Court denied Plaintiffs' motion for preliminary relief and
granted Federal Defendants' motion to stay proceedings "pending completion of [the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration's] ongoing review of the mifepristone REMS and
issuance of any resulting agency decision." ECF No. 258 at 36. The Court directed FDA to file a report within six months "providing the Court with the status of its review in
terms of process and any updated timeframe for completion of the review." Id.
Accordingly, FDA reports as follows:
FDA is conducting a study to assess the safety of mifepristone, in a
regimen with misoprostol, for the medical termination of intrauterine pregnancy6:25-cv-01491-DCJ-DJA Document 278
9175
Filed 10/07/26
Page 4 of 5 PagelD #:
REMS review. In addition, FDA has been directed to reconsider the 2023 decision
modifying the REMS in two other cases. See Purcell v. Kennedy, Civ. No. 17-00493, 2025
WL 310785 (D. Haw. Oct. 30, 2025); Whole Woman's Health Alliance v. U.S. Food and Drug
Admin., Civ. No. 3:23-00019, 2026 WL 2125567 (W.D. Va. July 23, 2026). Among other
things, those decisions require FDA to apply statutory factors in 21 U.S.C. § 355-1(a)(1)
that, based on the Agency's interpretation of the statutory requirements, it has not
previously evaluated in approving modifications to the REMS; compare mifepristone to
certain other drugs with comparable risks under 21 U.S.C. § 355-1(f) (2) (D)(i); consider
publications beyond those that FDA evaluated in reaching its 2023 decision; and consider the views of patients, providers, and pharmacists if the Agency is considering
imposing elements to assure safe use (also known as ETASU) under 21 U.S.C. § 355-
1(f)(2) as part of the Mifepristone REMS Program.
7. Following completion of its study and review, FDA will decide whether
changes to the Mifepristone REMS Program are necessary and, if applicable, initiate any
such changes in accordance with established processes. FDA anticipates that it will be
able to provide an update to its estimated date of completion as more information
becomes known, particularly in March 2027 when it expects to complete its report on
the final study results
3 In response to the Court's direction to describe "FDA's authority to issue interim orders addressing the prescribing or distribution of a drug if confronted with concerning information during its review," ECF No. 229, the government previously outlined FDA's authorities regarding approval suspension, labeling changes, and REMS
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 08/10/2026
Her reaction to pearl clutching from self identified pro-choice people: “Why is it only morally OK when women have to suffer” never change, Zara www.tiktok.com/t/ZTy4TDgJk/
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 07/10/2026
Eudora hive rise up
Screenshot from my family group chat

Diane (my sister)
What browser are you using? Or are you using a desktop email tool? Can you send a screen shot? All the emails opened fine for me in Chrome
8:28 PM

Dad
Using Eudora email program for 40+ years - never seen this before.
8:37 PM
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 06/10/2026
Siri, play “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera
Photo of what my bathroom looked like when I opened the door this morning. in the rear right corner up against the tub is the small blue litter box with the non-absorbent black beads. some of these beads are scattered across the floor. most notably, my cat knocked two shampoo bottles from the edge of the tub into the litter box. No, she did not pee. Of course she did not pee. There are food and water dishes along the right wall, and I put a pillow on top of the bathmat which she appears to have slept on.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 06/10/2026
Louisiana's lawyer says it right here: The case against the providers would end the "ability of nearly three dozen of the most prominent actors to illegally send ANY abortion drugs" to ban states, and the case against the states would strip providers of protection to prescribe "back-up drugs"
screenshot letter sent to the Fifth Circuit:
Both complaints explain how Louisiana’s success in Louisiana v.
FDA will eliminate the flood of FDA-approved mifepristone into the
State. Louisiana’s success in Louisiana v. Nouhavandi will eliminate the ability of nearly three dozen of the most prominent actors to illegally send any abortion drugs into the State. And Louisiana’s success in Louisiana v. New York will strip all shield-law state residents—regardless of any back-up drugs they may try to use—of the claimed authority to violate Louisiana’s laws with impunity.
Respectfully,
/s/J. Benjamin Aguiñaga
J. Benjamin Aguiñaga
Solicitor General
Counsel for Louisiana

pages 1 and 2 here
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca5.229553/gov.uscourts.ca5.229553.407.0.pdfscreenshot complaint against providers filed in district court:

A. Abortion Drug Manufacturers Encourage Abortions in Plaintiff States.
70. This story begins with abortion drugs themselves. The abortion drug mifepristone
causes an embryo or fetus to detach from the uterine lining, killing the embryo or fetus.16 Mifepristone
commonly is dispensed in conjunction with the drug misoprostol, which initiates contractions to expel
the dead embryo or fetus. Misoprostol also can be used standing alone to effectuate an abortion—
and some defendants in this case have threatened to switch to a misoprostol-only regimen if they lose the ability to mail mifepristone.17 Accordingly, the terms “abortion drugs” and “abortion-inducing drugs” in this complaint refer to both drugs individually and together, as well as any other drug intended to cause an abortion.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.223571/gov.uscourts.lawd.223571.1.0_2.pdf#page=21
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 03/10/2026
How your email finds me
Photo of my torbie cat Birdie with her front paws on my black leather couch and her mouth open showing fang. Her ears are slightly angled back, suggesting that she is mad. She is orange, brown, and white with a pink nose and pale green eyes.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 02/10/2026
ICYMI: three GOP-led states that wanted the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in order to "send abortion back to the states" are now asking the Court to block abortion protections in blue states @autonomynews.co www.tiktok.com/t/ZPL1TT5va/ www.instagram.com/reel/Dd7gtkG...
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 30/09/2026
for sure, abortion pills are just like mail bombs or cyber attacks www.ag.state.la.us/Files/Articl...
95. That is Defendant States’ shield laws in spades.
As discussed above, the singular purpose animating
those laws is to thwart pro-life states’ prohibitions of
abortion—and the predictable and intended conse-
quence of those laws is the monthly termination of
thousands of unborn babies’ lives in Plaintiff States,
with the health and safety of women and girls as col-
lateral damage. That is the most profound interference
with the public health imaginable in Plaintiff States.
96. If Defendant States had enacted laws goading
their residents into sending anthrax, fentanyl, or mail
bombs into Plaintiff States, or launching cyber-attacks
against Plaintiff States’ infrastructure, there would be
no question that Plaintiff States could sue to abate
those public nuisances. The same is true here.
97. That is especially so because this suit impli-
cates virtually every sovereign and quasi-interest that
this Court has recognized. First, a state has a sover-
eign interest in preserving its “power to create and en-
force a legal code.” Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc., 45
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 30/09/2026
Louisiana is comparing abortion pills to anthrax and fentanyl because they view embryos as legal people. Claims this is a reason the Supreme Court should take the challenge to abortion shield laws. I've seen fentanyl comparison before but not anthrax... www.ag.state.la.us/Files/Articl...
If New York, Massachusetts, and California had
erected laws encouraging their residents to ship fenta-
nyl or anthrax to addresses in Plaintiff States, there is
no question that Plaintiff States would have textbook
quasi-sovereign interests in challenging those laws—
for the very lives and health of their citizens would be
at stake. That is exactly the case here: Plaintiff States
protect unborn babies from the moment of conception.
Thus, every unborn baby whose life is terminated—
like every woman or girl who faces pain and suffer-
ing—is valued and protected in Plaintiff States. Cf. Al-
fred L. Snapp & Son, Inc., 458 U.S. at 607 (“One help-
ful indication in determining whether an alleged in-
jury to the health and welfare of its citizens suffices to
give the State standing to sue as parens patriae is
whether the injury is one that the State, if it could,
would likely attempt to address through its sovereign
lawmaking powers.”)
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 30/09/2026
Here is the states' request for SCOTUS to take this case as a trial court and consider the constitutionality of telehealth shield laws that allow clinicians to prescribe abortion pills across state lines. There are nearly 15,000 shield law abortions a month storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
screenshot 1 of 2:
Supreme Court of the United States
_________
STATE OF LOUISIANA; STATE OF ARKANSAS;
AND STATE OF ALABAMA,
Plaintiffs,
v.
STATE OF NEW YORK; COMMONWEALTH OF
MASSACHUSETTS; AND STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
Defendants.
_________
BILL OF COMPLAINT
_________
Plaintiffs State of Louisiana, State of Arkansas,
and State of Alabama bring this action against Defendants State of New York, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and State of California, and for their
causes of action assert the following:
NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. This case arises from one of the most serious interstate aggressions in our Nation’s history, violating,
among other things, the “fundamental principle of
equal sovereignty” among the states, Shelby County v.
Holder, 570 U.S. 529, 544 (2013), and “the Constitution’s horizontal separation of powers,” Nat’l Pork Producers Council v. Ross, 598 U.S. 356, 376 n.1 (2023).
2. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), this Court “heed[ed] the Constitution and return[ed] the issue of abortion to the
people’s elected representatives.” Id. at 232. States....screenshot 2 of 2:
...that favor abortion are thus free to deregulate as they
see fit, and pro-life states are just as free to regulate
as they see fit.
3. After Dobbs, however, pro-abortion states im-
mediately began to enact so-called telehealth “shield
laws” aimed at facilitating abortion in pro-life states
that have restricted or banned abortion.
4. Telehealth shield laws attempt to immunize
health care providers, pharmacies, and other actors
that illegally dispense abortion drugs into pro-life
states from both liability in those states and profes-
sional repercussions in shield-law states.
5. Among other provisions, telehealth shield laws
commonly allow anonymous or nearly anonymous
mailing of abortion drugs; bar extradition; forbid pub-
lic officials and private entities from cooperating with
out-of-state law enforcement; refuse to recognize out-
of-state judgments; bar disclosure of abortion data
from prescription-drug monitoring programs; forbid
professional discipline based on the prescription and
mailing of abortion drugs out-of-state; and bar the ter-
mination or denial of insurance coverage for the same
conduct. Some even create private rights of action for
ruinous liability against anyone who files a lawsuit
challenging this illegal conduct.
6. The power of a state’s shield law rests not in any
one provision within that law but in the combined ef-
fect of all its provisions, which attempt to predict—and
eliminate—all legal or professional problems a shield-
law state resident might otherwise face for violating
pro-life states’ laws. By embedding such provisions
throughout their legal codes, shield-law states seek to
assure their residents that they may, in fact, violate
pro-life states’ laws without any fear of repercussions.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 30/09/2026
NEW / HUGE: Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama sued nearly three dozen abortion pill providers + a pharmacy and The states asked the Supreme Court to be able to sue New York, Massachusetts, and California to challenge their telehealth shield laws @autonomynews.co storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Dear Mr. Cayce:
I write to notify the panel of two legal developments material to the
panel’s resolution of this case.
First, today Louisiana—joined by Arkansas and Alabama—filed a
lawsuit in the Western District of Louisiana against nearly three dozen
individuals and entities responsible for remotely dispensing FDA-
approved mifepristone in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama. See
Louisiana v. Nouhavandi, No. 2:26-cv-03836 (W.D. La.) (attached). As
the complaint in that case illustrates, none of those individuals and
entities could carry out their current operations without the 2023
REMS’s removal of the in-person dispensing requirement.
Second, also today Louisiana—joined by Arkansas and Alabama—
filed a motion for leave to file a bill of complaint (attached), Louisiana v.
New York, in the United States Supreme Court against New York,
Massachusetts, and California. The bill of complaint challenges the
telehealth shield laws of those states on various legal grounds.
Both complaints explain how Louisiana’s success in Louisiana v.
FDA will eliminate the flood of FDA-approved mifepristone into the
State. Louisiana’s success in Louisiana v. Nouhavandi will eliminate the
2
ability of nearly three dozen of the most prominent actors to illegally send
any abortion drugs into the State. And Louisiana’s success in Louisiana
v. New York will strip all shield-law state residents—regardless of any
back-up drugs they may try to use—of the claimed authority to violate
Louisiana’s laws with impunity.
espectfully,
/s/J. Benjamin Aguiñaga
J. Benjamin Aguiñaga
Solicitor General
Counsel for Louisiana
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 30/09/2026
Ellie had lights in her playoff ponytail btw
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 30/09/2026
Destroyed. They won both games by 16 points
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 29/09/2026
Met a Bluesky friend irl @alicemiranda.bsky.social. We talked about Josh Hawley, as abortion reporters do
Photo of me and Alice Miranda Ollstein in a beautiful living room
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 28/09/2026
my own publication showing up in my @sill.social daily digest :') proud of us, @garnethenderson.com!! Read the story here: www.autonomynews.co/new-lawsuits...
screenshot from personalized Sill daily digest:
Autonomy News
New Lawsuits Argue That Pregnant People Also Have a Right to Life
[photo of the statue of liberty]
by Susan Rinkunas • 1 day ago
Lawyers are fighting abortion bans in state court by establishing that pregnant people have a right to life and liberty—or at least self-defense.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 28/09/2026
Here’s Hawley pressing Patel about federal investigations for sending abortion pills in the mail. It would be under the Comstock Act, though neither cite it. This was the same hearing where Patel got grilled on the FBI‘s bestiality policy so it got little notice www.autonomynews.co/what-was-thi...
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 28/09/2026
In March, a group of GOP Senators urged the FDA to work with federal law enforcement agencies to clamp down on mail-order services selling mifepristone. That’s exactly the kind of investigation the FBI would oversee, and Kash Patel seems ready: www.autonomynews.co/what-was-thi...
Autonomy News screenshot:
FBI Director Kash Patel has expressed openness to criminal probes. In a September 15 hearing, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley claimed that abortion pill manufacturers are “actively coaching” people on how to use the mail and “other means of communication and commerce” to evade state abortion bans. "Without naming any of the companies, I'm not saying we're not [investigating] already,” Patel said, “but any use of the federal mail system is a federal crime that falls to the FBI to investigate, especially in conjunction with a violation of a state law that's already on the books. So we're committed to that."
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 27/09/2026
“The thing we don't hear about enough, in my opinion, is the lives and humanity of pregnant people.” These kinds of challenges not only seek to overturn state bans, but could be used as part of a larger argument that Dobbs is unworkable and should be reversed: www.autonomynews.co/new-lawsuits...
screenshot from Autonomy News:
Anti-abortion advocates have claimed for decades that fetuses and even embryos are people with legal rights. No one can stop them from making that argument, Duane said, but reproductive rights and justice advocates can and should highlight the people without whom that potential life wouldn’t exist.

“The thing we don't hear about enough, in my opinion, is the lives and humanity of pregnant people,” she said. “We cede that ground to them when we don't plant our feet firmly on the ground and say what our values are, which is that pregnant people should not lose their rights just because they're pregnant.” 

Amplify Legal is making a similar right to life claim in a case it filed against Arkansas' abortion ban. The first hearing in the lawsuit is on Monday. These kinds of challenges not only seek to overturn state-level bans, but could be used as part of a larger argument that the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade is itself unworkable and should be reversed.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 26/09/2026
It’s Styrofoam with something harder on top because. yes, that SUV in the driveway got its shit wrecked 
Photo of the sidewalk in front of the townhouse abutting the gray apartment building, which has huge pieces of Styrofoam stacked up. they have some sort of coating on the exterior and I see some threaded things that might be some sort of netting or fiberglass, I don’t know. in the background is a white SUV and you can see that the rear windshield and front windshield are both shattered, potentially also a sunroof.  Yes, the front door of the townhouse has a vacate order taped to itPhoto of pieces of Styrofoam collecting in water in the road and on the sidewalk in front of this whole mess 
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 26/09/2026
So is it normal for New York City apartment buildings to put styrofoam on their exteriors?
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 26/09/2026
Letter of recommendation: spicy margaritas made with this www.anchoreyes.com/products/anc...
A green bottle of Ancho Reyes Verde chili poblano liqueur 
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 25/09/2026
The world‘s most normal bed user 
Photo of a fuzzy green domed cat bed with an opening on the front from which the right haunch of my cat Birdie is sticking out in comical fashion. It looks like a half chicken that would be served to you on a plate. her fur is orange brown and white with a white sock on her right paw. This bed is sitting on top of a wood floor and next to a black couch and a little gray ottoman.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 24/09/2026
Photo of that soccer coach (sorry) ripping off his headphones in disgust. This is me because the woman’s name evokes the political concept of the Overton Window
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 22/09/2026
bruh thank god Stephanie Toti said that hospitalization is "a tremendous incursion into a patient's liberty"
Judge Connie Callahan: Would you concede that your argument on death from self-harm is weaker than the other arguments because obviously there are other measures that can be taken besides an abortion to prevent a woman from committing suicide. As the regulation of abortion has been returned to the states, why can't the state require those other measures rather than abortion? 

google doc comment from myself: "like what, involuntary commitment?"
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 22/09/2026
hey virginians did you know you get to vote to remove a BAN on same-sex marriage from the state constitution and protect people if the 6 robed freaks overturn obergefell? www.vpm.org/news/2026-08...
screenshot

VPM News
Voters will decide whether to enshrine marriage equality in Virginia
VPM | By Jahd Khalil and Adrienne Hoar McGibbon
Published August 24, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 21/09/2026
The @wgaeast.bsky.social and Writers Guild of America West settled their lawsuit to block the proposed merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery after the 12 state Attorneys General settled their case. Joint WGA statement
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WGA Settles Lawsuit Against Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger
 
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES (September 21, 2026)—The Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West, jointly the WGA, have settled their lawsuit to block the proposed merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, following settlement of the lawsuit filed by a coalition of 12 State Attorneys General. The WGA issued the statement below: 
“We continue to believe the merger will cause damage to writers and the industry at large. Now that the Attorneys General have settled with Paramount, however, as a nonprofit, the WGA must contend with the reality of forging ahead alone, with no backing from government enforcers, with a complex antitrust lawsuit that would cost millions of dollars to pursue through trial. Consequently, we have also settled our lawsuit with an agreement from Paramount to prohibit writer layoffs at CBS News Broadcast for 5 years, and to pay $17.5 million to our health fund along with our attorneys’ fees in the litigation. 

Though we were not successful in blocking the merger, our advocacy brought more attention to the harms that this merger—and others like it—will cause. We will continue to fight the harms of industry consolidation.

 

As the number of outlets to sell our work to and the corresponding diversity of programming shrinks, we need industry-wide structural separation between streamers and studios in order to promote competition in programming, like the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules once required in broadcast television. We will continue to fight for these goals.”
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 20/09/2026
We need more journalists, but it’s unsustainable for so many people to pursue this as a career. Healthcare is a huge reason why. Link to vote is in your email from “eballot” 🫡
Screenshot of a candidate email sent to online media members on Tuesday, September 15 

SUSAN RINKUNAS - Candidate for Online Media Sector Council

Digital media is being crushed by consolidation, bad bosses, and vampiric technologies like Al. Writers and journalists don't just need strong employer-based contracts, they also deserve protections and resources if they choose to go out on their own—or are forced to do so.

I've served two terms on the Council, and served on both the finance committee and the executive director search committee that helped bring Sam Wheeler to the Guild. I could hit the ground running to make sure the WGAE organizes promising targets, negotiates contracts with the strongest Al protections, supports independent journalists demanding better terms from platforms like Substack, and works to reduce the appalling cost of health insurance for freelancers. I know these challenges firsthand: I bargained two contracts, I've been on strike with my former shop GMG Union, I've been laid off, and, in 2025, I co-founded a worker-owned publication.The Guild needs to think seriously about how it can use its power to help materially provide for its members so they can continue to do the necessary work of holding truth to power. One solution is having the Council decide whether to advocate for a bill for statewide universal healthcare in New York. It would be a vehicle that helps WGAE members in all sectors and gets the wheels in motion for nationwide guaranteed healthcare. (Check out my candidate statement for more.)

Thank you for reading these candidate emails. I would be honored to continue serving the WGAE, but please vote, even if it isn't for me.

In solidarity,
Susan Rinkunas
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 20/09/2026
I firmly believe that the U.S. needs universal healthcare, and that it won’t happen until a state does it first, and that the WGAE can and should apply pressure in this area. Helping my colleagues has the potential to help millions more people www.wgaeast.org/candidates/s...
Screenshot from my candidate statement:
Pushing for universal healthcare wouldn't just benefit [online media] members, it would also help freelance members in the Broadcast sector and Film and Television members under the MBA who have run out of points for their health plan. I see it as our duty to use the Guild's political power to improve the lives of our members, which has the pleasant side effect of raising the standard of living for everyone.

I believe we as a Guild should do whatever we can to support the universal healthcare bill in New York, up to and including the Council deliberating whether to create a Political Action Committee (PAC). Our WGA siblings in the West already have a PAC, formed in 2008. In the interim, we could also consider how to create a health plan for freelance members—I'm open to ideas on how to get this done.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 18/09/2026
after that call, she took a three hour nap
Photo of me standing in front of the pink chair, and the cat is sprawled diagonally between the two bolster pillows her head and front paws against the left pillow and her rear paws against the rightone
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 18/09/2026
My assistant joined my call this morning
Screenshot from Zoom, where you can see my right shoulder and a bit of my hair and in the background sitting on a pink velvet armchair is my very fluffy cat Nala, plus also a coat rack and some crap on my coffee table. My name is in the bottom left corner of the photo. 
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 18/09/2026
Filing from Whole Woman's Health Alliance outlines far-right pressure campaign on FDA to further restrict mifepristone despite scientific evidence. Also cites AG Todd Blanche's comments in a private call that DOJ was working with FDA on mife storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... @autonomynews.co
Plaintiffs believe there is a grave risk that, on remand, FDA will ignore the statutory factors
that this Court has directed it to consider. Even before this Court’s remand, FDA had started to
conduct a review of the mifepristone REMS. That review was instigated and driven by
ideologically-driven politicians and lawmakers from states that have banned abortion who disagree...with a different aspect of FDA’s 2023 REMS decision: its formal elimination of the in-person
dispensing requirement. The political pressure on FDA to make the mifepristone REMS more onerous is considerable:

Date               Event
April 28, 2025 Senator Josh Hawley (R. Mo.) sends a letter to then-FDA Commissioner
Martin Makary urging him to “revisit and restore the FDA’s longstanding
safety measures regarding mifepristone.”1
June 2, 2025 Then-FDA Commissioner Martin Makary responds to Senator Hawley,
saying that he is “committed to conducting a review of mifepristone and
working with the professional career scientists at the Agency who review
this data.”2
July 31, 2025 Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and at least 20 other Republican
attorneys general send a letter to Health and Human Services (“HHS”)
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and then-FDA Commissioner Makary
calling for FDA to “consider reinstating safety protocols” from the 2011
REMS or, alternatively, to withdraw mifepristone from the market.3
Sept. 19, 2025 HHS Secretary Kennedy and then-FDA Commissioner Makary respond
to the Republican attorneys general, informing them that “through the
FDA, HHS will conduct a study of the safety of the current REMS, in
order to determine whether modifications are necessary.”4
1 Letter from Sen. Josh Hawley to Comm’r Martin Makary (Apr. 28, 2025)
(https://www.hawley.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-04-28-Hawley-FDA-Letter-to-
Makary.pdf).
2 Image posted by Sen. Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO), X, Letter from Comm’r Makary (Jun. 2, 2025),
Date Event
Dec. 10, 2025 Senator Hawley sends another letter to then-FDA Commissioner Makary
demanding a “specific timeline” for completion of FDA’s mifepristone
review.5
May 12, 2026 Makary resigns as Commissioner of FDA. The press reports that one
factor contributing to his “rocky tenure” at FDA was anti-abortion groups’
accusation that he was “slow-walking” the mifepristone review.6
The press also reports that “[w]ithin hours of his appointment,” Acting
FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas reached out to “several anti-
abortion leaders” to assure them that “he is morally opposed to the
procedure.”7
Aug. 19, 2026 President Trump nominates Heidi Overton to succeed Makary as FDA
Commissioner. While working at the America First Policy Institute, Dr.
Overton co-authored a paper on “Risking Two Lives: The Dangerous Rise
of Chemical Abortion,” in which she opined that mifepristone posed “a
serious threat to women’s health.”8
Aug. 27, 2026 The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions issues a
report titled “Mifepristone Without Guardrails: An Investigation Into
How Chemical Abortion Drug Makers Are Putting Mothers and Babies
At Risk” (the “Senate HELP Report”).9 The Senate HELP Report....[continues on next page, not shown] concludes that ““FDA should step in to institute more stringent REMS requirements that provide sufficient guardrails to discourage inappropriate use of products approved with ETASU.”
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.128384/gov.uscourts.vawd.128384.101.0.pdf
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 17/09/2026
www.autonomynews.co#/portal
sickos cartoon from The Onion with a guy looking through a window saying "yes ... ha ha ha ..YES"
https://theonion.com/painful-procedural-1819592076/
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 16/09/2026
Family is also suing Ken Paxton and Texas hospital officials under federal civil rights law section 1983—the Ku Klux Klan Act. Defendants "deprived" Tierra of her right to life under the 14th Amendment ... "the fundamental right to life does not cease to exist simply because a person is pregnant."
page 38 of the lawsuit:
V. CAUSES OF ACTION
CLAIM I: VIOLATION OF 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (TIERRA WALKER’S RIGHT TO LIFE)
(against Defendants Paxton, Carlton, Clifton, Stewart, and Franka in their individual capacity)
138. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference all of the foregoing as if fully restated herein and further alleges as follows:
139. Individual Defendants’ conduct, as described in this petition, deprived Ms. Walker of her right to life as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
140. There is no right more fundamental to our system of government, more clearly established, than a person’s right to life. Cruzan v Director, Mo. Dep’t. of Health, 497 US 261, 281 (1990) (“It cannot be disputed that the Due Process Clause protects an interest in life.”); see also Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 9 (1985) (“[The] fundamental interest in [one’s] own life need not be elaborated upon.”); Kallstrom v. City of Columbus, 136 F.3d 1055, 1063 (6th Cir. 1998) (“[I]t goes without saying that an individual’s interest in preserving her life is one of constitutional dimension.” (internal citations and quotations omitted)). The fundamental right to life does not cease to exist simply because a person is pregnant. Wilner v. Prowda, 158 Misc.2d 579, 583 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County 1993) (“[W]omen do not lose their constitutionally protected liberty . . . when they are pregnant” (internal citations omitted)); State v. Zurawski, 690 S.W.3d 644, 673 (Tex. 2024) (Lehrmann, J., concurring) (“[A] pregnant patient retains a liberty interest in access to medical care, including abortion, to protect her life and health.”).

https://abortioninamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Walker-Petition.pdf
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 16/09/2026
Big lawsuit filed by the family of Tierra Walker, who died of preeclampsia at 20 weeks pregnant after being denied abortion care. Argues Texas' abortion bans violate the state constitution's right to life and should be struck down. More soon on @autonomynews.co abortioninamerica.org/wp-content/u...
screenshot from page 60 of the complaint:
Not one of Ms. Walker’s medical providers sought to rely on the exception to Texas’s abortion bans or offered Ms. Walker’s life-saving abortion. To the extent Ms. Walker’s medical providers believed that she was never sick enough to qualify for the exception, Texas’s abortion bans, combined with the associated definitions of “abortion,” “reasonable medical judgment,” and “medical emergency,” are unconstitutionally vague in violation of the due course of law provision of Article I, Section 19 and thus unenforceable. See Paxton v. Annunciation House, Inc., 719 S.W.3d at 589.
208. In addition, to the extent Texas’s abortion bans and associated definitions were a proximate cause of Ms. Walker’s death, they violated her right to life under the Texas Constitution and are unconstitutional. Vernon’s Tex. Civ. Stats. ch. 6-1/2; Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 170A.001-170A.007; Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 171.201-171.212; Tex. Health & Safety Code § 245.002.
209. Finally, to the extent Texas’s statutory scheme, taken as a whole, cumulatively denied Ms. Walker her right to life without due process of law, Texas violated her right to life under the Texas Constitution

https://abortioninamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Walker-Petition.pdf
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 16/09/2026
A girl and her fishy 
Twitter screenshot 1/4

Susan Rinkunas @susanri...• 4/18/23
My kitten has deposited this fish on my bed for the third day in a row. What does it mean

 [Photo of a stuffed fish cat toy with stuffing coming out near the eye resting delicately on my bed on top of mint green sheets and gray duvet near some pillows]Twitter screenshot 2/4
Y'all she skipped day four but found this tonight, day five

[Photo of stuffed fish toy that my kitten placed on my bed three days in a row, skipped day four, but returned in the evening of day 5]Twitter screenshot 3/4

Susan Rinkunas @susanri...• 4/21/23
Good morning 😭
[A photo of my cat Birdie, the planter of the fish toy, sitting next to the fish toy that she planted in my bed overnight with her paws outstretched in front of her and looking at me]

Susan Rinkunas @susanri...• 4/21/23
(Yes, I removed the fish before going to bed last night)Twitter screenshot 4/4

Susan Rinkunas @susanrin...• 5/5/23
l'm cry
[Photo of the fish toy sitting on top of my gray duvet about a foot in front of several pillows. there is no cat in this photo]

Susan Rinkunas @susanrin...• 5/5/23
Two weeks later, she's back folks!!
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 16/09/2026
Anti-abortion activists are weird, part 2: toilet stuff, featuring “poisoned” excrement www.tiktok.com/t/ZTUqG61Kx/ www.instagram.com/reel/DdU2Hfa... @autonomynews.co
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 16/09/2026
Anti-abortion activists are weird, part 1: aborted embryos singing to a dead Senator www.tiktok.com/t/ZTUqp3Ds3/ www.instagram.com/reel/DatjxVl...
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 15/09/2026
The fishmonger in question
Orange and brown Torbie cat with white chest fur and a pink nose sitting on my windowsill, looking off in the distance (it’s at pigeons on the façade of my brick building). In the foreground is a white curtain and the leaves of a fiddle leaf fig
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 15/09/2026
Cat put all her fish together :’)
Photo of three cat toys on my wooden living room floor next to radiator. There are two little orange-bodied fish with silver faces, and one larger, photo realistic fish with the stuffing pulled out of the mouth.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 14/09/2026
the newsletter text says Politico broke the news "today." It was Friday, but the story was updated today. once again, why do so many people trust a person who has trouble with basic facts? subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
Politico Pro
FEDERAL
Abortion opponents claim ‘tremendous victory’ as EPA tests water for abortion pills
The new study will test for trace amounts of chemicals, pesticides and drugs — including ones used to induce abortions — in drinking water in multiple cities.
By: Miranda Willson, Alice Miranda Ollstein, Ariel Wittenberg
| 09/11/2026 [Friday] 06:30 PM EDT | Updated 09/14/2026 [Monday] 10:59 AM EDT
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 14/09/2026
this news is not "BREAKING"—the writer even notes down thread that Politico broke the story first. Why, then, is that word in the blog headline? Have been hoping that people will grow tired of sensationalized repro news but that hope is fading
screenshot:
Jessica Valenti @jessicavalenti.bsky.social
· 16m
The EPA will test America's drinking water for abortion medication & birth control—caving to a years-long pressure campaign from anti-abortion extremists. 1/8

substack headline is "BREAKING: EPA Will Test Drinking Water for Abortion Pills & Contraception"screenshot:
POLITICO broke the news first, and points out that EPA’s test will only show whether certain chemicals are present in the water, not how much there is or whether the amount poses a risk to people. 

But that won't matter much in terms of the politics— conservatives will use *any* amount to attack us 3/8

https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/09/abortion-opponents-claim-tremendous-victory-as-epa-tests-water-for-abortion-pills-01073232
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 14/09/2026
this photo on the National Right to Life website is supposed to be Gavin Newsom....... nrlc.org/nrlnewstoday...
[AI-generated photo of Gavin Newsom that looks like a face smash of him and actor Jonathan bailey]
California passes bill to mandate community colleges provide abortions
Sep 14, 2026

California pro-abortion Gov. Gavin Newsom

By Micaiah Bilger – Assistant Editor, The College Fix

A California bill sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk on Thursday will require public community colleges to provide abortion pills on campus, expanding a mandate that already applies to state universities.

The pro-abortion legislation, Assembly Bill 2540, passed its final hurdle in the California Senate on Aug. 31 in a 61-17 vote. Newsom, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 13/09/2026
The bar is in hell 
 screenshot from the esteemed Hinge dating app:
Dating me is like
Logan
[five gold start emojis ] ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No roomates
Mattress off the floor
Elevator building
Attends therapy regularly
Has hobbies
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 10/09/2026
How do you sleep when the words “John Fetterman” mean nothing to you
Photo of my fluffy torbie cat (brown, orange and white) blissfully asleep on my black leather couch. She is mostly on her right side, but then her head is upside down and her left paw is underneath her chin. If you look closely above her pink nose, you can see a bit of her left canine between her lips.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 09/09/2026
The DOJ lawyer said "we do not take a position on the merits" so often that he apologized for being a broken record. This is not the stance of an administration that's going to keep abortion pill access the way it is www.autonomynews.co/fda-lawyer-l...
screenshot of my notes from the Fifth Circuit Hearing. This quote is not in the story but I'm posting here for legal nerds:

Daniel Winik for FDA: I do not. And again, we just—I hate to be a broken record on this, but we do not take a position in this case on merits. The whole point of our position in this case is that it's FDA's job in the ongoing consideration of mifepristone to address all of these issues. The only argument we are making to the court, the basis on which the court should deny the relief Louisiana is seeking, is that Louisiana doesn't have standing, and even if it did, it would be improper to grant the [section] 705 stay. [ie, an injunction of a federal rule while a case proceeds through the court system, which is only supposed to be used for "irreparable injury" https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/705]

a few minutes later:
Winik for FDA: Again, I really cannot take a view here on the merits of the 2023 REMS modification [that allowed telehealth prescriptions]. Our position is that the court should deny the relief they're seeking.
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