In Part 3 of our Fertile Ground series, The Texas Tribune takes a historical look at the role of government in family planning — a long-standing women's health initiative that has become entangled in the battle over abortion.

The Republican candidates vying to fill three open seats in the Dallas area include Tea Partiers, moderates and a former state representative. In the crowded North Texas field, it's likely all of the races could end in runoffs. 

Republicans are expected to win easy victories in several Collin and Denton county legislative races. But that hasn't stopped the candidates from duking it out over who has the most conservative credentials. Here are five races to watch. 

A district covering Rockwall County and parts of Collin County is up for grabs. Republican observers expect a close race between former judge Jim Pruitt and Scott Turner, a professional athlete turned businessman.

In part two of "Fertile Ground," our occasional series on the battle over family planning, we go to West Texas to look at a fight that has centered on Planned Parenthood.

Officials said Wednesday at a state Senate committee hearing that Texas' mental health system remains underfunded and that waits for care are getting longer for many in the state.

This latest ruling means the Health and Human Services Commission cannot exclude Planned Parenthood clinics from the Women's Health Program while a lawsuit on the matter is pending in district court.

A federal judge's ruling this morning means that the state may begin removing Planned Parenthood and other so-called abortion "affiliates" from the Women's Health Program, despite a district judge's Monday ruling to the contrary.

The first part in our occasional series examining the battle over family planning in Texas considers the impact of lawmakers' orders to reduce spending on birth control and cancer screenings. A UT-Austin research group is beginning to track the fallout.

UPDATED: Texas health officials have delivered their much-anticipated plans for taking over the Medicaid Women's Health Program. They want to assume full responsibility in November. Federal officials say they're considering the plan. 

Planned Parenthood branches in Texas have filed a federal lawsuit in an effort to block their exclusion from the state's Women's Health Program.

In conjunction with  Morgan Smith's "Death of a District" series, the Tribune presents a special video report on the role of accountability and whether the state's current standards are helping or hurting failing districts in Texas.

Here's a final roundup of Texas reactions to the last day of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic hearings on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

This Storify timeline summarizes reaction to the second day of the Supreme Court's hearings on federal health care reform. We also preview the agenda for the third and final day of oral arguments.

If the Supreme Court upholds the Affordable Care Act, Texas may see a surge in newly insured patients seeking primary care. As this interactive of primary-care workforce shortages from 2001 to 2011 shows, the number of physicians in your county isn't likely to keep up with demand.