Bethany Irvine, Author at The Texas Tribune

About

Corrections and Clarifications

Our reporting on all platforms will be truthful, transparent and respectful; our facts will be accurate, complete and fairly presented. When we make a mistake — and from time to time, we will — we will work quickly to fully address the error, correcting it within the story, detailing the error on the story page and adding it to this running list of Tribune corrections. If you find an error, email [email protected].

Bethany Irvine

Bethany Irvine was a graduate student at Georgetown University and a Washington, D.C., reporting fellow. During her years working in the nation’s capital, she has served as a public policy intern and project specialist for the Texas A&M University System’s Office of Federal Relations, a national contributing writer for HerCampus.com and an intern for the U.S. House of Representatives.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke during a news conference about the House vote on H.R. 3755, the Women’s Health Protection Act that would “establish a federally protected right to abortion access” at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24, 2021.

Texas Abortion Restrictions

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas is lone Democrat to vote against federal bill protecting abortion rights

By Bethany Irvine and Abby LivingstonSept. 24, 2021Sept. 24, 2021

The U.S. House is trying to override Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. But Democrats likely lack the support they need in the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in November.

The 2021 Texas Tribune Festival

John Cornyn eyes Senate GOP leadership role, says House will flip easier than Senate in midterms

By Bethany IrvineSept. 21, 2021Sept. 21, 2021

Texas’ senior senator was reelected to a fourth term last year.

The U.S. Capitol during sunrise in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 15, 2020.

Texas Abortion Restrictions

Texas’ abortion ban prompts push in Congress to pass federal reproductive rights bill, while renewing filibuster feud

By Bethany IrvineSept. 15, 2021

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced the House will take up the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 in late September, but the bill faces steep odds in the Senate.

Congressional Democrats’ letter is the latest push from government officials to counter Texas’ new abortion law after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, above, issued a statement Monday saying he is exploring options to challenge the law.

Politics

Congressional Democrats urge U.S. attorney general to prosecute any Texas abortion “vigilantes”

By Bethany IrvineSept. 8, 2021

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Democrats on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee urged the Department of Justice to take action against citizens who file suits against abortion seekers under the new law.

Texas Abortion Restrictions

Why “heartbeat bill” is a misleading name for Texas’ near-total abortion ban

By Bethany IrvineSept. 2, 2021

Medical and reproductive health experts say the reference to a heartbeat is medically inaccurate as an embryo does not have a developed heart at six weeks’ gestation.