#5SmartReads - October 29, 2024

On sister senators-to-be, saving a beloved brand, and the state of the news

#5SmartReads is a Webby-honored weekly news digest that amplifies underreported news and underrepresented perspectives. My goal is to help you stay informed without being overwhelmed, and to embrace nuance and reflection over picking a side.

The GOP's Attack on Abortion Pills is Here (

Abortion, Every Day

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Jessica Valenti

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The mifepristone lawsuits keep me up at night.

The Supreme Court did not move to protect access to this medication. In ruling against the previous plaintiffs, they made it clear what the standing would have to be in order to successfully challenge the FDA.

And it’s not long term safety of the medication, which has a better safety profile than Tylenol. It’s not about ensuring quality healthcare access (which telemedicine has helped expand).

It’s about control, by any means necessary.

Jessica Valenti

brilliantly outlines the state of the current mifepristone lawsuits and clearly breaks down each of the issues in these cases - the current legal strategy, a refresher on the Comstock Act’s role, and projections on what could happen next.

This is enough to terrify me about the future of women’s healthcare in this country. But a successful challenge to the FDA’s authority would open up a Pandora’s box to challenge any FDA-approved medication on legal grounds, completely ignoring the documented safety data that a sponsor must collect before filing with the FDA for approval.

I understand people’s distrust of our healthcare industry, and the pharmaceutical industry in particular. And as someone who runs a small biopharma (focused on developing improved versions of existing medications at affordable costs), I also know how hard our jobs are from a technical perspective, and a trust perspective. The majority of the industry is made up of passionate scientists who truly want to help heal, not force people into impossible decisions of paying for food or their medication. The FDA’s first priority is SAFETY, not efficacy (and they’ve moved quicker than any other government agency in correcting where they have made mistakes).

To open the door to revoke approval on carefully evaluated medications because it doesn’t fit with a political agenda? It’s abhorrent - and too close to reality for my comfort.

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How a group of women investors saved M.M. LaFleur from the brink of collapse (Fast Company)

If there’s a theme to today’s 5SR, it’s celebrating how women lead (and making the case for why we need more of it, not less).

Let’s start with women in the private sector, and how they rallied to help an impactful business survive a financial crisis.

MM.LaFleur managed to survive the pandemic (as a women’s workwear brand - no small feat) and to reopen their physical retail spaces over the past couple of years. But when their working capital lender pulled out earlier this year, Sarah LaFleur (the company’s cofounder & CEO) had a couple of weeks to find approximately $3M to keep the business open.

She asked the women in her community for help - and they answered. This piece is a rare, transparent peek behind a business we often don’t see, and it sets the stage for LaFleur to help other female founders do the same.

I’ve bet on her before - and I’ll definitely do it again.

Disclosure - I am an early investor in MM.LaFleur