Gov. Abbott to abortion opponents: “All of you are life savers”
Abbott lauded the efforts of the anti-abortion movement after a landmark year for opponents of the procedure. Full Story
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![Hundreds of people march in downtown Austin during the Texas Rally for Life event at the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says he won’t give up COVID-era power until Texas lawmakers ban vaccine mandates, strengthen border
Abbott doubles down on his long-standing call to lawmakers to prohibit local governments from enacting mask and vaccine mandates. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference in Austin on Dec. 17, 2020, regarding COVID-19 and the Pfizer vaccines that have been sent to hospitals across Texas. Gov. Abbott was adamant that despite rising cases and deaths, he will not be ordering any shutdowns. Gov. Abbott also said he has not received the vaccine, but he will take it when the time comes.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
After fumbled Uvalde shooting response, Texas senator wants to make it easier to sue law enforcement officers
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat, introduced a package of legislation that includes a bill that would end qualified immunity, which shields government officials from liability for constitutional violations. Full Story
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![Families of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting gather to attend a presser held by state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, where he introduced four new bills that will address qualified immunity for police officers, allow victims to sue the State of Texas, repeal the protection of the Lawful Commerce in Arms act, and create a permanent compensation fund for victims of school gun violence, at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 24, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Farmers face a higher risk of suicide. The Texas Agriculture Department wants $500,000 a year to change that.
The department’s helpline is less than a year old. But advocates hope state lawmakers fully fund it as farmers and ranchers continue to face hard economic times and isolation. Full Story
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![Grant Heinrich, Operations Manager for Pro Agri Spraying, stands outside of his Slaton business Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
After a hospital stopped delivering babies, Deep East Texas faces a growing maternity care crisis
Women in Deep East Texas drive over an hour to give birth after the last obstetrics unit in the area closed in 2019. But if closing the unit was hard, reopening it is proving nearly impossible. Full Story
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![Chloe Walker pushes around her sixteen-month old daughter, Everleigh, outside the home they share with her parents and grandmother in Newton, TX, on Jan. 3, 2023.]()
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For East Texas teens, accessing sex education and contraception is next to impossible
In conservative Sabine County, it’s hard for teens to access contraception or sex education beyond lessons on abstinence. The Deep East Texas region has one of the highest teen birth rates in the state. Full Story
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![Bremyiah, 16, and her mother, Brittany Henson, in their home in Hemphill, TX, on Dec. 30, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas family planning clinics require parental consent for birth control following court ruling
The Title X program has long provided free, confidential contraception to anyone, regardless of age, income or immigration status. A North Texas federal judge ruled in December that the program violates Texas law and parents’ rights. Full Story
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![Various birth control pills available at a Planned Parenthood in Austin.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Jennifer Shuford named commissioner of Texas public health agency
The infectious disease doctor has been at the helm of the department in an interim capacity since the fall, replacing longtime commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt following his retirement. Full Story
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![Dr. Jennifer Shuford has been appointed commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.]()
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UT Health San Antonio will launch new trauma research program with military
The research teams are expected to focus on traumatic brain injury, stem cell research, drug development and anti-shock therapies. Full Story
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![An ambulance is parked at Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas
at Austin in 2018.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Federal court ruling may prevent Texas teens from getting birth control without parental permission
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a former religious liberty lawyer, found that a federal program that gives teens access to birth control denies a parent “a fundamental right to control and direct the upbringing of his minor children.” Full Story
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![Birth control pills available at a Planned Parenthood in Austin.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Our latest newsroom hires
Emily Foxhall, Laura Garcia, Michele Gonzalez, Julia Guilbeau and Stephen Simpson are the latest additions to the Tribune’s news and events teams. Full Story
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![The exterior of the Texas Tribune office in downtown Austin on Nov. 5, 2019.]()
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Texans are dying on state highways every day — especially in rural “dead zones”
Fatal crashes in rural areas accounted for 51% of Texas’ 4,489 traffic fatalities in 2021, even though only about 10% of the state’s population lives in a rural area, according to data from the state’s department of transportation. Full Story
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![EMT Ronnie Robison calls the Woodland Heights Medical Center to tell them to prepare for an opioid overdose patient at the Lufkin facility Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. Robison has to call on a certain street of highway before a “dead zone” of no cell service or they will not be able to warn the trauma team to prepare for their patients.]()
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Why are pregnancy and childbirth killing so many Black women in Texas?
A decade ago, Black women in Texas were twice as likely as white women to die from pregnancy and childbirth. Today, not much has changed. Full Story
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![A father touches a pregnant belly as Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with doctors, nurses, doulas, and healthcare professionals during a tour of the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco on April 21, 2022. Harris visited the EMBRACE program of prenatal and postnatal care for black women.]()
Credit: Terry Schmitt/Pool/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
TribCast: Texas’ persistent problem with maternal mortality
On this week’s TribCast, Matthew speaks with Eleanor about a long-awaited state report on maternal mortality in Texas and Alex about cities’ efforts to decriminalize marijuana. Full Story
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![A nurse performs a sonogram with a patient at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Austin, on Jan. 18, 2012.]()
Credit: Erich Schlegel for The Texas Tribune -
New Texas maternal mortality report shows disparities persist
The Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee report, delayed by more than three months, estimates that up to 90% of the deaths may have been preventable. Severe complications from pregnancy and childbirth also increased significantly. Full Story
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![A pregnant Nancy Pedroza, 27, touched her stomach at her parent's house where she was residing during the COVID-19 outbreak, in Fort Worth on April 5, 2020.]()
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With billions for broadband on the line, Texas asks federal government for more time to improve access maps
Local officials, echoing Glenn Hegar, say the current maps are flawed and the process to lodge complaints is cumbersome. Full Story
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![A splice can that contains 432 fiber cables in Louisville, Kentucky on April 19, 2021.]()
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Why Texas is unlikely to let voters decide on abortion access
A Texas Democrat is proposing a constitutional amendment stopping future abortion restrictions. Voters would have to approve it — but Republican lawmakers aren’t likely to put it in front of them. Full Story
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![Thousands of people walk in a pro-abortion protest march around downtown San Antonio on June 24, 2022.]()
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Delayed Texas maternal mortality report to be released next week, state says
Due in September, the report was delayed to allow a full review of 2019 cases, the state health agency said. That review didn’t change the findings. Full Story
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![Sable Moya holds her son, Luke, in their home in McAllen, Texas.]()
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Texas state court throws out lawsuit against doctor who violated abortion law
The court’s ruling does not overturn the 2021 law, which banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. It also does not impact the near-total ban on abortion that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Full Story
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![Dr. Alan Braid, abortion provider and owner of Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio, sits in his office for a portrait on June 14, 2022.]()
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Texas hits 1,000 days under Greg Abbott’s public health disaster as a new COVID-19 wave and legislative session loom
After more than 92,000 deaths and 8 million reported COVID-19 cases in Texas, the state remains one of less than a dozen still under a statewide disaster or public health emergency. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott declares a state of disaster in Texas amid new cases of COVID-19 in the state on March 13, 2020, at the state capitol.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune