Terri Langford is our new senior reporter for health and human services
Terri, a deeply experienced Texas journalist, has covered criminal justice and overseen health coverage for the Tribune. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/59085b3ac4fdbc3accd1f5848968b1f3/terri%20headshot%202.jpg)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
-
How a U.S. Supreme Court case about gender-affirming care ban could impact Texas
Texas’ ban on transition-related care for minors is currently before the Supreme Court of Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a2b0ba542b3a7dd492ae11f96fe5ab48/SCOTUS%20Pride%20REUTERS.jpg)
![Gay marriage supporters hold a pride flag in front of the Supreme Court before a hearing about gay marriage in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2015.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts -
Five abortions a month: How Dobbs changed Texas
Before Roe v. Wade was overturned two years ago, the monthly average was around 4,400. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/889d86b593678203cc2d762a3ce983e1/TEMP%20Abortion%20Protest%20DC%20JG%20TT%2010.jpg)
![Abortion rights demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision, in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas adopts guidance for how doctors should interpret abortion ban
The guidance lays out what the Texas Medical Board will consider when investigating allegations of illegal abortions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b34423d0a103f61b33fff9307826ecab/0322%20Texas%20Medical%20Board%20MC%2025.jpg)
![President of the Texas Medical Board Dr. Sherif Zaafran, M.D., center, speaks during a board meeting in Austin on Mar. 22, 2024. During the meeting, the board addressed ‘Consideration and possible action on rules regarding exceptions to the ban on abortions.’]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas to begin construction this year on seven new psychiatric hospital projects
The construction begins after lawmakers have allocated $2.5 billion to modernize and increase access to inpatient psychiatric care in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/eab61efe8ebdf11e388a2e128b4adf0b/0515%20AHS%20Opening%20MC%20TT%2033.JPG)
![A map of Texas showing various psychiatric hospitals in Texas inside the Austin State Hospital on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 in Austin.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
An East Texas town wants to revolutionize how the state cares for people living with memory loss
The ambitious project has won a federal grant. But the Texas Legislature has not yet given its blessing, a crucial step to move the facility forward. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/170bbde79b4a92e498939834778d4447/0314%20Quitman%20Health%20MC%20TT%2028.jpg)
![Quitman Mayor Randy Dunn speaks about working with the Wood County Health Care Foundation to plan out and build the Memory Health Life Center on Thursday March 14, 2024 during a meeting at UT Health East Texas in Quitman.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ maternal mortality committee questions recent changes after anti-abortion doctor’s appointment
The committee’s chair also raised concerns about the state’s possible departure from a federal system to share data about maternal deaths. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a86982f878dab5f3a0c5b65668ad710f/Carla%20Ortique%20TM%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Dr. Carla Ortique speaks at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 29, 2018.]()
Credit: Thomas Meredith for The Texas Tribune -
As disabled Texans wait for services, low caregiver wages worsen staffing shortages
Caregivers got a raise from state lawmakers last year but many still leave for other higher-paying state jobs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/00ff12390b31ca8e36eefbb9fb2e36f1/Caregiver%20Wages%20SAR%20TT%2005.jpg)
![Laura Lemkowitz assists Jose Montelongo into the Center for Health Care Services van during their weekly volunteer service with Meals on Wheels.]()
Credit: Scott Ball/San Antonio Report -
With too few mental health providers, more patients turn to primary care
While primary care is experiencing its own workforce shortage, the profession is shouldering more mental health screenings to help bridge the behavioral health provider gap. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3c7322f64f976e22230d609d41a6be3c/Doctors%20Office%20Clinic%20Medical%2002.jpg)
![Francisco Garcia arrives at Kelsey-Seybold clinic in Sugar Land to see his doctor Spencer Berthelsen for annual physical. Sept. 22, 2011.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court rejects case that could have imperiled IVF access
The justices allowed a lower court’s opinion to stand, and, for now, sidestepped the question of whether a frozen embryo has the same rights as a living child. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b0aeffd550ccb51af53da0ec7dd55771/IVF%20Treatment%20REUTERS%2002.JPG)
![A doctor injects sperm directly into an egg during in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection at Novum clinic October 26, 2010, in Warsaw.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel -
As a Texas city debates an abortion travel ban, maternal care is scarce in nearby rural counties
Amid a fight over an “abortion travel ban,” women health care experts say more attention is needed to the plight of pregnant Texans in the Panhandle where there are few hospitals and OBGYNs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/23c5eda00e211ebda7bb6ce93c053cdd/Cactus%20Texas%20MG%20TT%2005.jpg)
![The town of Cactus on Jan. 29, 2020. Cactus is in the upper part of the Texas Panhandle, about 50 miles north of Amarillo.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court allows access to abortion pill, unanimously rejecting Texas challenge
In the high court’s first abortion-related ruling since it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the justices ruled unanimously to change nothing about mifepristone’s legal status. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1d1a0ff6a64783a4c034c238e9b33bbc/Mifepristone%20REUTERS.jpg)
![A patient prepares to take mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, on Jan. 13, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein -
Democrats block Cruz’s IVF bill, saying it doesn’t go far enough to protect the procedure
The senator’s bill to protect in vitro fertilization would have withheld Medicaid funding from states that ban the procedure. Democrats say IVF should be a federal right. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a74d917aff907185d723da108d2550fb/Ted%20Cruz%20Israel%20Presser%20REUTERS.jpg)
![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the U.S. Capitol on May 9, 2024.]()
Credit: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas sues to block new Biden administration rule protecting access to some gender transition care
In March, the federal government said providers can’t deny gender care to transgender people that would be provided to others for other purposes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/52a2b967c739ee4d180e61873229190c/0523%20GOP%20Convention%20EH%20TT%2051.jpg)
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on Thursday, May 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
State rejects health insurers' pleas to halt plan that will shake up coverage for 1.8 million Texans
Affected Texans who receive Medicaid coverage would be shifted to new insurers next year if the state health and human services agency sticks to its plan. It’s now up to the executive commissioner to make a final decision. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b042ee8c29d4650c0da9587bf96c649c/Nursing%20Shortage%20JV%20TT%2016.jpg)
![An empty emergency room at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on August 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
“Grateful to be alive”: Clubhouse programs take pressure off overwhelmed Texas mental health hospitals
Thousands of people are discharged from Texas mental health hospitals yearly, and so-called step-down programs like clubhouses can help them integrate back into the community. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f76275491a968ff18dbe0a87cfd30e1d/0529%20Austin%20Clubhouse%20MM%20TT%2016.jpg)
![AUSTIN, TX - MAY 29: Austin Clubhouse member Jonathan Denhart poses for a portrait at Hyde Park Christian Church in Austin, Texas on May 29, 2024. Photo by Montinique Monroe for the Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Strict rules over delta-8 and delta-9 likely for Texas’ booming hemp industry
Lawmakers are struggling to balance demands for medicinal cannabis products with a wildly growing market that is outpacing meaningful regulation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/62e9e2b4a701afeec1dfdb33b4d50025/Delta%208%20EG%20TT%2001.jpg)
![A product containing Delta-8 at Oasis CBD Shop in Brownsville on Nov. 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court rejects challenge to abortion laws
The court ruled against 20 women who said they were denied medically necessary abortions, saying the medical exceptions in the law were broad enough. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ee1730abcbeb29f6d95d8c0f25055962/0719%20Abortion%20Hearing%20Presser%20JT%2009%20TT.jpg)
![Amanda Zurawski, middle, addresses the press following the first day of testimony for Zurawski v. State of Texas outside the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in Austin on July 19, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas revamps Narcan distribution following delays, unpredictable supply
Texas has tapped more than $45 million in federal funds to get the overdose-reversing drug into the hands of law enforcement, members of the public. But the program has been plagued by supply issues, delays and lack of communication. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fbd00709ebc1b300cb50eac29e84c612/Callie%20Crow%20Narcan%20BT%20TT%2023.jpg)
![Narcan nasal spray at an opioid educational training class with Callie Crow, the founder of Drew's 27 Chains, on March 31, 2022, in Caddo Mills.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Despite pressure, Amarillo City Council punts on abortion travel ban petition
Supporters of the petition may ultimately seek a vote of Amarillo residents later this fall. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c55d799227fc225ae38bfb71c4fd54d1/0528%20Abortion%20Update%20MR%2001.jpg)
![Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley, left, and Councilman Tom Scherlen listen to testimony during a city council meeting Tuesday, May 28 in Amarillo. Residents gave testimony and arguments to members of the city council as they discussed a proposed abortion travel ban in Amarillo.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune