The full and often unchecked power of the prosecutor was on display when a South Texas woman was charged with murder for a self-induced abortion.
Texas Abortion Restrictions
Abortions in Texas ceased following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the constitutional protection for an abortion. Texans who want to access abortion at any stage of pregnancy will have to travel out of state, look beyond the U.S.-Mexico border or operate outside of the law, while others will carry unwanted pregnancies to term. Birth control and emergency contraceptives, commonly referred to as Plan B, are different from the drugs used to induce an abortion and remain legal.
Under Texas’ strict abortion law, McAllen clinic sees patients seeking medication across the border
The law went into effect in September, a week before Mexico’s Supreme Court dissolved a Coahuila state law that made abortion a crime. Now some Texans further along in their pregnancies are going there for abortion-inducing drugs.
Former state Sen. Wendy Davis challenges Texas abortion law in court
Davis is best known for her 13-hour filibuster against another restrictive abortion law in 2013. Now, she’s suing to block enforcement of Texas’ current ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
How reproductive rights groups sounded the alarm after a South Texas woman was charged with murder for an abortion
The Rio Grande Valley, often seen as a reliable vote against abortion, has a long history of advocacy to increase access to the procedure.
Oklahoma passes total abortion ban, further limiting options for Texans
After Texas passed a ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, more Texans went to Oklahoma for the procedure than to any other state. Now, in a surprise move, the Oklahoma Legislature is cutting off that option.
Texas Supreme Court deals final blow to federal abortion law challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court left abortion providers only the narrowest avenue to challenge the ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Friday’s Texas Supreme Court ruling has effectively ended that federal legal challenge.
Supreme Court again declines to intervene in challenge to Texas abortion law
The case is currently before the Texas Supreme Court. Abortion providers were hoping the U.S. Supreme Court would reroute the case into federal district court, where a judge had previously blocked the law.
Texas abortion law challenge heads to state’s supreme court, likely adding more delays to case
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision means it could take months before abortion providers’ challenge to the restrictive law returns to a federal court.
Texas abortion providers want district court, not conservative appeals court, to hear challenge to restrictive law
Lawyers for the providers argue that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should send the challenge against Texas’ Senate Bill 8 to district court, which in October temporarily blocked enforcement of the law.
Video: With abortions restricted in Texas, many leave the state to seek care at crowded Kansas clinic
About half the patients at Trust Women’s Wichita clinic come from out of state.

