This session we have seen an all out assault on women’s health driven by the erroneous assumption that family planning is synonymous with abortion.
abortion
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Criminal Justice
20 Weeks in Which the Budget Held Sway
The 82nd Texas Legislature’s regular session ends as it started, with lawmakers arguing about a shrunken state budget and redistricting.
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Health care
Guest Column: The Case Against Family Planning Funding
At a time when we are scouring the budget and questioning every expenditure, when funding for essential services like public education must be reduced, it is time to stop subsidizing abortion providers under the guise of “family planning.”
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Health care
Guest Column: The Case for Family Planning Funding
Eliminating funds for family planning services is not a responsible or compassionate choice. It will shift the burden of care to our already overloaded local hospitals and leave the women who depend on these services with few options.
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Health care
Women’s Health Program Still Stands, but Questions Linger
The Women’s Health Program — long believed to require legislative renewal — lives on, at least for now, in the form of a budget rider.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Immigration and Economy Top Concerns in UT/TT Poll
The most important problems facing the country are economic, while immigration and border security are the most important problems facing the state, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
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Health care
Video: “The Beginning of the End for Abortions”
This morning, Gov. Rick Perry signed into law House Bill 15, the so-called abortion sonogram bill, which Senate sponsor Dan Patrick, R-Houston, termed “the beginning of the end for abortions.”
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Health care
Family Planning Programs Face Steep Cuts, Elimination
The state’s family planning budget is getting increasingly thin. Budget conferees appear poised to go with the cheapest possible option for offering minimal family planning services, and a Medicaid program that provides screenings and contraception is circling the drain.
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Health care
House Tentatively OKs Medicaid Fiscal Reform Bill
The House tentatively passed a health care bill that intends to increase efficiency and cost savings in Texas’ expensive Medicaid and other health programs today — but not before adding a far-ranging variety of amendments.
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Demographics
Video: Todd Staples at TribLive
At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, I interviewed Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples about the impact of drug-fueled violence on border farmers and ranchers, what he thinks about the Senate’s two-thirds rule, his nascent campaign for lieutenant governor in 2014 and more.
