Hi Reader,

Because ProPublica is funded largely by individual donations from our readers, we’re in a unique position to pivot and expand our investigations as they unfold.

One example is from a story we published just last week about prenatal screening. ProPublica reporter Anna Clark described the process of investigating this story: “This project was initially about a company with a lab in Ann Arbor and questionable business practices. More than a year later, it landed as a story about a whole industry and decadeslong regulation fight.”

Indeed, the story exposes wide-reaching issues: While more than half of all pregnant people get noninvasive prenatal screening tests, these tests are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In fact, no federal agency checks to make sure these prenatal screenings work the way they claim before they’re sold to health care providers. And companies are not required to publicly report instances of when the tests are wrong. Our investigation documents times when the tests have been wrong, sometimes with tragic consequences. The FDA has attempted to expand its oversight to include these screenings, but so far it has failed to overcome the fierce industry backlash.

This isn’t the first time one of our reporters uncovered layer upon layer of injustice the more they dug into a story. And it won’t be the last.

ProPublica reporters like Anna have the freedom and the resources to follow their investigations wherever they go, as long as it takes to get to the truth, because we’re funded by readers. We have tens of thousands of folks standing behind us, backing us up and providing the support we need to stay on these stories.

I’m asking you today to stand up and join us with a donation of any amount. Your support is exactly the kind of people-powered funding we need to continue this urgent work. Our journalism is only possible with the backing of readers just like you, and I’d be so grateful if you’d join us today.

Thanks so much,
Jill Shepherd
Proud ProPublican