House lawmakers expressed frustration Thursday that some of their priority legislation had not moved in the upper chamber, including a package of health care and criminal justice reform bills pushed by House Speaker Dade Phelan.
Shannon Najmabadi
Shannon Najmabadi was a reporter at the Tribune from 2017 to 2021, most recently covering women's health. Her stories — on higher education and other topics — have prompted lawmakers to change three state laws, including one involving a very narrow definition of the word “pickle.” She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott signs into law one of nation’s strictest abortion measures, banning procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy
The signing of the bill opens a new frontier in the battle over abortion restrictions as first-of-its-kind legal provisions intended to make the law harder to challenge are poised to be tested in the courts.
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Health care
Lawsuit seeks to block Lubbock’s ordinance aimed at outlawing abortions
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas are suing over the West Texas city’s “sanctuary city for the unborn” ordinance.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Bill that would ban abortion at six weeks heads to governor’s desk to become Texas law
Gov. Greg Abbott has said he intends to sign the bill.
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Demographics
Lubbock votes to become the state’s largest “sanctuary city for the unborn”
The outcome could prompt a lawsuit over what opponents say is an unconstitutional ban on abortion. The vote comes less than a year after Planned Parenthood opened a clinic in the West Texas city.
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Demographics
Lubbock voters will decide Saturday if the West Texas city will become the largest “sanctuary city for the unborn”
While proponents of the proposed ordinance view abortion as an “inconceivably wicked action,” detractors say it would be immediately challenged in court and that battles over abortion access are best fought at the state and federal levels.
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Health care
Feds rescind health care funding agreement that would have paid for care for uninsured, poor Texans after 2022
The Washington Post, citing two federal health officials, said the decision was a bid to push Texas toward expanding Medicaid.
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Texas Legislature 2021
House committee advances anti-abortion bills, including ones aimed at outlawing the procedure in Texas
The bills now head to the full House for debate. Versions already passed by the Senate are also pending. Each measure will need to be approved by both chambers before becoming law.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Republican state House speaker backs expanding Medicaid to cover mothers for a year after they give birth
The number of reported maternal deaths has increased nationwide in recent decades. Health experts and advocates say giving low-income moms Medicaid coverage for a year after delivery, rather than two months, could save lives.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Bills restricting abortion, including one that bans procedure as early as six weeks, gets Texas Senate OK
The slate of bills must still go to the House for approval.