Anti-abortion advocates and state leaders, meanwhile, hope the rule will help the state power the right to distribute federal family planning dollars.
Women’s Health Program
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Health care
Amid contracting scandal, Charles Smith to retire as head of Texas health commission
Smith, executive commissioner for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, will step down at the end of May after weeks of intense scrutiny over how the commission handles contracts.
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Health care
Report: Thousands more Texas women being served in health programs
Despite rising numbers, it’s still not known whether the number of women accessing such services has returned to the levels that preceded massive budget cuts during the 2011 legislative session.
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Health care
Report: Texas’ maternal deaths were dramatically lower in 2012 under new methodology
Some of the state’s top health experts released a report in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology on Monday that used a new method for counting — and found that the number of women who died dropped from 147 to 56.
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Health care
Gov. Abbott signs bill giving Texas maternal mortality task force more time
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill on Wednesday giving a state task force more time to study why an alarming number of Texas mothers are dying less than a year after childbirth and find solutions.
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Health care
Feds draw thousands of comments on Texas’ request to renew women’s health funding
The number of comments to a federal agency considering Texas’ request to renew funding for its women’s health program has surged this week as advocates on both sides weigh in.
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Politics
With proposal to penalize men for masturbating, legislator aims to shake up health debate
State Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Houston Democrat, has filed House Bill 4260, which would fine men $100 for masturbating.
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State Government
Rise in Texas maternal deaths absent from legislative agenda
Texas’ maternal deaths have been sparingly mentioned during the legislative session, overshadowed by issues such as child welfare, the so-called “bathroom bill” and sanctuary cities.
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Criminal Justice
State focuses on anti-abortion group video in Planned Parenthood hearing
Showing multiple clips from a video released in 2015 by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress, state attorneys and witnesses said the footage was grounds for dismissing Planned Parenthood from Medicaid.
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Health care
Analysis: Abortion Stats Reveal Texas Lawmakers’ True Intentions
State lawmakers’ 2013 abortion regulations — an effort to circumvent what was spelled out over time by the U.S. Supreme Court — would have been easier to defend with some evidence. But that wasn’t part of the sales pitch.