Join Us at Autonomy News
I wanted to take a moment, on this second-to-last day of the year, to thank those of you who have followed, subscribed, and supported us at Autonomy News. If you haven't checked out the site yet, I want to invite you to come over and take a look.
Just under seven months ago, we launched Autonomy News with a powerful vision: Well-sourced, critical reporting that doesn’t exploit workers behind the scenes. A publication built on the awareness that bodily autonomy isn’t a niche issue, but a defining one in all our lives. Worker-owned journalism that holds all power to account, even when it’s inconvenient.
I'm proud to say we've done just that. In the first weeks after our debut in June, my cofounder Susan Rinkunas and I managed to scoop the New York Times on a major story about the fallout from the GOP’s effort to “defund” Planned Parenthood, which led the organization to consider allowing some of its regional affiliates to opt out of providing abortion care. In response, Planned Parenthood called our reporting "lies." I'll be honest, it was scary when the biggest, most powerful organization on our beat attempted to discredit us in a series of very public statements, just weeks after our launch. But we trusted our sources and stood by our reporting—and eventually, Planned Parenthood admitted we were right.
Garnet Henderson
More recently, Susan stuck with a story that had already hit the news, about the controversial interim CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast, whose decisions seemed so out of step with the organization's values and priorities that it led some staff to wonder if they were witnessing an intentional anti-abortion takeover. Engaging in this kind of accountability reporting isn't easy, but we believe it's important, especially as fewer and fewer publications employ reporters full-time on the reproductive rights and justice beat. It also earns us the trust of sources working in reproductive justice and abortion access—which shows in the fact that Susan was able to uncover critical and previously unreported details in the Planned Parenthood Southeast saga. Following the publication of Susan's story, the controversial CEO finally stepped down.
Susan Rinkunas
We've also published numerous exclusives based on tips from people who brought their stories to us, and no one else. Our reporting has been republished by Mother Jones, and we even collaborated with them to produce a major investigation.
Garnet Henderson
We've also engaged in media criticism, to fill a gap left by the demise of public editors at most major outlets.
Garnet Henderson
We've highlighted wins where we can.
Garnet Henderson
And finally, we've kept our subscribers up to date on the onslaught of news on our beat in our digestible weekly roundups.
Garnet Henderson
We are just getting started. And we're committed to keeping our work paywall-free, because good information is too often difficult to access, while misinformation is always free. That means we rely on readers to support us voluntarily.
Right now, we're raising funds through a fiscal sponsor, which means your gifts to our end-of-year campaign are tax-deductible. Can you help close our final gap of $13,000? Instructions for how to give from a donor-advised fund or by check are available here.
You can also support our work with a paid subscription. In fact, everyone who starts a new, paid annual subscription before the end of the year will receive a free, signed copy of Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.
Don't have money to give right now? We get it! You can always subscribe for free, and simply share our stories with your friends! Any and all forms of support will help buoy us into 2026. We have big things in store. Join us!
