Rachel Wells
@rachelwells1.bsky.social
Independent journalist
Founder of TNReproNews.com
Secure msg on Signal: rachelwells.73
Founder of TNReproNews.com
Secure msg on Signal: rachelwells.73
Reposted by Rachel Wells
Fox News lost its mind about women overwhelmingly voting for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social, asking “what’s wrong with women?” and promoting early marriage to combat the “issue.”
This excellent, heartbreaking piece by @rachelwells1.bsky.social gives one reason why.
open.substack.com/pub/wellsrac...
This excellent, heartbreaking piece by @rachelwells1.bsky.social gives one reason why.
open.substack.com/pub/wellsrac...
A TN Repro News Origin Story
Looking back before the decade's over
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Fox News lost its mind about women overwhelmingly voting for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social, asking “what’s wrong with women?” and promoting early marriage to combat the “issue.”
This excellent, heartbreaking piece by @rachelwells1.bsky.social gives one reason why.
open.substack.com/pub/wellsrac...
This excellent, heartbreaking piece by @rachelwells1.bsky.social gives one reason why.
open.substack.com/pub/wellsrac...
Reposted by Rachel Wells
A former assistant dean at MTSU is suing the school's leaders after she was fired over social media remarks regarding the death of Charlie Kirk.
Former MTSU Assistant Dean Sues After Firing Over Charlie Kirk Comments
A former assistant dean at Middle Tennessee State University is suing the school's leaders after she was fired in September following social media remarks regarding the death of conservative activist ...
www.nashvillescene.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 PM
A former assistant dean at MTSU is suing the school's leaders after she was fired over social media remarks regarding the death of Charlie Kirk.
In honor of my 40th birthday this week, I wrote an essay on how TN Repro News came to be. Read it below.
A TN Repro News Origin Story
Looking back before the decade's over
substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:06 PM
In honor of my 40th birthday this week, I wrote an essay on how TN Repro News came to be. Read it below.
No matter how much they try, they can't stop abortion pills.
Why Red States Like Tennessee Can’t Stop Abortion Telemedicine
A new group is building legal armor for blue state providers
substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM
No matter how much they try, they can't stop abortion pills.
Reposted by Rachel Wells
Huge congrats to a plucky startup that employs some of the best journalists in this town.
Some news: We received a $1.2M grant from@theajp.bsky.social to expand our statehouse & local coverage — including new beats in health, housing & environment to deepen civic engagement in Middle TN. The funding boosts our revenue team for a stronger, sustainable newsroom primed for growth.
American Journalism Project awards Nashville Banner $1.2M grant - Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner will receive a $1.2 million grant from the American Journalism Project to expand its newsroom and strengthen local journalism.
nashvillebanner.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Huge congrats to a plucky startup that employs some of the best journalists in this town.
I knew AP coverage of CPCs was terrible, but to use someone from Charlotte Lozier as their only source? YIKES. This is a must, must, must read from @autonomynews.co by @susanrinkunas.com & @garnethenderson.com | We need expert and independent repro reporters more than ever. Support them!
The Associated Press Does Free PR for Crisis Pregnancy Centers
A recent story is a glaring example of how traditional journalistic “objectivity" is far from unbiased, and can even facilitate the spread of disinformation.
www.autonomynews.co
October 28, 2025 at 2:52 PM
I knew AP coverage of CPCs was terrible, but to use someone from Charlotte Lozier as their only source? YIKES. This is a must, must, must read from @autonomynews.co by @susanrinkunas.com & @garnethenderson.com | We need expert and independent repro reporters more than ever. Support them!
Ms Rachel: PBS meant so much to me as a kid. I watched a lot of TV. I mean, having a single mom who’s working a lot, we turned on the TV a lot, and I learned a ton from PBS and I turned out okay.
The Meaning of Ms. Rachel
She redefined children’s media—and built her empire—by centering empathy. Now she’s channeling that same ethos into activism.
www.glamour.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Ms Rachel: PBS meant so much to me as a kid. I watched a lot of TV. I mean, having a single mom who’s working a lot, we turned on the TV a lot, and I learned a ton from PBS and I turned out okay.
TRULY: “It’s astonishing that in our day and age, so many stillbirths happen with no identified risk factors,” Cohen said. “We have watches that track our sleep and stress, but we can’t always tell when a pregnancy is in trouble.”
A sweeping study found thousands of stillbirths occur without clear warning signs
A study led by researchers at Harvard and Mass General Brigham shows stark socioeconomic divides and thousands of unexplained losses, even in seemingly healthy pregnancies.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:35 PM
TRULY: “It’s astonishing that in our day and age, so many stillbirths happen with no identified risk factors,” Cohen said. “We have watches that track our sleep and stress, but we can’t always tell when a pregnancy is in trouble.”
This week, Students for Life, an extreme anti-abortion group, is bringing its ‘Make Gen-Z Anti-Abortion’ tour to two Tennessee college campuses: tomorrow, Tuesday, October 28th at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Thursday, November 30th at Vanderbilt University.
The Anti-Abortion Circus Hits Tennessee
Demystifying Students for Life’s campus roadshow of shock and spin
open.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:18 PM
This week, Students for Life, an extreme anti-abortion group, is bringing its ‘Make Gen-Z Anti-Abortion’ tour to two Tennessee college campuses: tomorrow, Tuesday, October 28th at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Thursday, November 30th at Vanderbilt University.
This is a really promising update in CRR's case against TN for medically restrictive "exceptions" in TN's total abortion law. Happy to see the Chancery Court add some sense to the case. @tennesseelookout.com
Signaling skepticism that exceptions to TN abortion ban are adequate, judges rule against state • Tennessee Lookout
A three-judge panel ruled against Tennessee's effort to end a lawsuit challenging the inadequacy of exceptions to the state's abortion ban.
tennesseelookout.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:15 PM
This is a really promising update in CRR's case against TN for medically restrictive "exceptions" in TN's total abortion law. Happy to see the Chancery Court add some sense to the case. @tennesseelookout.com
When I say I'm fighting for reproductive rights, I mean I'm fighting for everyone's reproductive rights: democrats, republicans, independents, and anyone in between.
Watch my full conversation with award-winning investigative journalist Lisa Rab over on TNReproNews.com
Watch my full conversation with award-winning investigative journalist Lisa Rab over on TNReproNews.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
When I say I'm fighting for reproductive rights, I mean I'm fighting for everyone's reproductive rights: democrats, republicans, independents, and anyone in between.
Watch my full conversation with award-winning investigative journalist Lisa Rab over on TNReproNews.com
Watch my full conversation with award-winning investigative journalist Lisa Rab over on TNReproNews.com
Later today, I’ll be going LIVE on Substack with award-winning investigative journalist Lisa Rab to talk all things, repro rights, maternal health, and the state of independent reporting.
Join us today at 6pm CT / 7pm ET here: open.substack.com/pub/wellsrac...
Join us today at 6pm CT / 7pm ET here: open.substack.com/pub/wellsrac...
October 22, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Later today, I’ll be going LIVE on Substack with award-winning investigative journalist Lisa Rab to talk all things, repro rights, maternal health, and the state of independent reporting.
Join us today at 6pm CT / 7pm ET here: open.substack.com/pub/wellsrac...
Join us today at 6pm CT / 7pm ET here: open.substack.com/pub/wellsrac...
We are working hard to flip CD7 here in Tennessee. It’s one of the three congressional districts GOP cut into Nashville to dilute our voices. #cd7 #tn
Take note of all these people turning out for protests in small towns in red states.
Remember them the next time you’re inclined to write an area off because “they voted for this.”
Remember them the next time you’re inclined to write an area off because “they voted for this.”
October 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Join us next week for an informative, therapeutic, and hysterical conversation. (If you can’t cry, laugh!)
Subscribe here: wellsrachelm.substack.com/subscribe
Subscribe here: wellsrachelm.substack.com/subscribe
October 15, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Join us next week for an informative, therapeutic, and hysterical conversation. (If you can’t cry, laugh!)
Subscribe here: wellsrachelm.substack.com/subscribe
Subscribe here: wellsrachelm.substack.com/subscribe
The fight against CPCs is only going to get harder and harder as they infiltrate every aspect of healthcare and education. This is a *must read* piece of reporting. If you don’t already, follow @autonomynews.co!
NEW: We obtained recordings from a crisis pregnancy center conference where anti-abortion law firms like Alliance Defending Freedom admit that CPCs are free to make referrals for abortion pill "reversal" at the same time they claim they’re being censored.
An @autonomynews.co @motherjones.com collab:
An @autonomynews.co @motherjones.com collab:
Abortion Pill “Reversal” Is a Hoax. It's Also a Powerful Right-Wing Legal Strategy.
Speakers at a crisis pregnancy center conference made rare admissions about the challenges of providing so-called abortion “reversal,” and indicate its importance as a litigation tool.
www.autonomynews.co
October 15, 2025 at 4:26 PM
The fight against CPCs is only going to get harder and harder as they infiltrate every aspect of healthcare and education. This is a *must read* piece of reporting. If you don’t already, follow @autonomynews.co!
Reposted by Rachel Wells
As predicted, the goal is to gut public ed completely. Livability, earnability, jobs, business, & economic prosperity are highly correlated to ed opportunity. People will leave TN if we lose public ed. This is not an opinion- it's simple math. tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/14/d...
Debate over private-school voucher expansion looms in Tennessee • Tennessee Lookout
Key Tennessee lawmakers are taking different views toward Gov. Bill Lee’s desire to expand the state’s new private-school voucher program. House Speaker Cameron Sexton is gung-ho about an increase, s...
tennesseelookout.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:22 PM
As predicted, the goal is to gut public ed completely. Livability, earnability, jobs, business, & economic prosperity are highly correlated to ed opportunity. People will leave TN if we lose public ed. This is not an opinion- it's simple math. tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/14/d...
Freedom of press forever.
Opinion: Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass
Tom Bowman has held his Pentagon press pass for 28 years. He says the Pentagon's new media policy makes it impossible to be a journalist, which means finding out what's really going on behind the scen...
www.npr.org
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Freedom of press forever.
Covered the repro > corporate takeover that’s been happening at PPSE over the last year. More reporting coming soon.
BREAKING: Sources Say Planned Parenthood Southeast Is Straying From Its Mission
Corporate cohort replaces repro leadership
open.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Covered the repro > corporate takeover that’s been happening at PPSE over the last year. More reporting coming soon.
This is the MAHA-ization of bodily autonomy I've been railing about. Read more about what's coming at TN Repro News. wellsrachelm.substack.com/p/the-maha-i...
Unraveling the Effort to Make American Women Helpless Again
When MAHA comes for bodily autonomy we all lose
wellsrachelm.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 4:21 PM
This is the MAHA-ization of bodily autonomy I've been railing about. Read more about what's coming at TN Repro News. wellsrachelm.substack.com/p/the-maha-i...
"RRM is as much a political lifeline for abortion opponents and Republicans as it is a medical treatment. Last year, when the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling declaring IVF embryos to be children for the purposes of the state’s wrongful death of a minor law, a nightmare began for the GOP."
Conservatives Have a New Strategy for Demonizing IVF. It Might Actually Work.
RRM strategies seem tailor-made to create common ground between conservatives who identify as pronatalist.
slate.com
October 12, 2025 at 3:58 PM
"RRM is as much a political lifeline for abortion opponents and Republicans as it is a medical treatment. Last year, when the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling declaring IVF embryos to be children for the purposes of the state’s wrongful death of a minor law, a nightmare began for the GOP."
This post is exclusively here to share the poncho I bought at a garage sale today.
October 11, 2025 at 8:01 PM
This post is exclusively here to share the poncho I bought at a garage sale today.
Paid subscriptions to TN Repro News are officially live! If you're looking for independent, Southern-rooted reporting on repro rights, you've found the right Substack.
Become a paid subscriber here: wellsrachelm.substack.com/subscribe
Become a paid subscriber here: wellsrachelm.substack.com/subscribe
October 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Paid subscriptions to TN Repro News are officially live! If you're looking for independent, Southern-rooted reporting on repro rights, you've found the right Substack.
Become a paid subscriber here: wellsrachelm.substack.com/subscribe
Become a paid subscriber here: wellsrachelm.substack.com/subscribe
Tennessee and the repro movement is SO lucky to have Dr. Andreson. She is a force to be reckoned with.
Damn right, @nashvillescene.com! Dr. Andreson is following through by standing up for her patients, the ability to practice medicine without government interference and running for office AGAIN to fix this mess from the inside! You can donate to help her win at secure.actblue.com/donate/laura...
Best Follow-Through
It is inspiring to see how many women entered politics in the past few years, when Tennessee’s laws began hitting close to home. OB-GYN Dr. Laura Andreson was spurred into
www.nashvillescene.com
October 10, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Tennessee and the repro movement is SO lucky to have Dr. Andreson. She is a force to be reckoned with.
Tennessee led the country in the criminalization of pregnant people after it passed a “fetal-assault” law. Since the law sunset in 2016, recorded cases have fallen, but that’s not to say the state isn’t still at the forefront of the landscape. wellsrachelm.substack.com/p/tennessee-...
How Tennessee Disappeared from the Data but Not the Damage
The punishment didn’t stop. It just went underground.
wellsrachelm.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Tennessee led the country in the criminalization of pregnant people after it passed a “fetal-assault” law. Since the law sunset in 2016, recorded cases have fallen, but that’s not to say the state isn’t still at the forefront of the landscape. wellsrachelm.substack.com/p/tennessee-...
How many times have Black repro justice orgs warned mainstream feminist movements that surveillance is the *key* to repro autonomy? Ans: Too many to count. Thankful to Healthy & Free TN, SisterSong and SisterReach, and SPARK for their work. Follow RJ leaders yesterday. #reproductivejustice
Make sure to read @404media.co’s incredible reporting on this - then check out my newsletter for more info on how the anti-abortion movement is working with abusers to target women
October 9, 2025 at 3:58 PM
How many times have Black repro justice orgs warned mainstream feminist movements that surveillance is the *key* to repro autonomy? Ans: Too many to count. Thankful to Healthy & Free TN, SisterSong and SisterReach, and SPARK for their work. Follow RJ leaders yesterday. #reproductivejustice