Women denied abortions sue Texas to clarify exceptions to the laws
Five women announced a new lawsuit Tuesday, marking the first time patients directly affected by new abortion laws have sought to challenge them in court. Full Story
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![Lauren Hall outside her home on Sept. 10, 2022. Hall had a non-viable pregnancy and had to leave the state in order to terminate, revealing gaps in the state's miscarriage exception after Roe v. Wade was overturned.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers pursued dozens of bills affecting LGBTQ people in 2023. Here’s what passed and what failed.
The Legislature banned puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids, restricted the college sports teams trans athletes can join and expanded the definition of sexual conduct to include some drag shows. But a “Don’t Say Gay” provision for schools missed key deadlines. Full Story
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![Members of Austin's LGBT community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots on June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
This rural Texas hospital has closed twice. Now reopened, it hopes a new partnership can save it for good.
Under a new federal law, the rural hospital will get higher Medicare payments for shedding inpatient services to instead staff a round-the-clock emergency department. Full Story
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![The nursery at the shuttered labor and delivery unit of Medical Arts Hospital in Lamesa on Dec. 9, 2017. The rocking chair pictured came from the original facility when the staff moved into the current facility in 2009.]()
Credit: Gary Rhodes for The Texas Tribune -
Wendy Davis to lead Planned Parenthood’s political advocacy arm
Davis, who is best known for her 13-hour filibuster to block a 2013 abortion bill, joins the group at a low point for reproductive rights in Texas. Full Story
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![Wendy Davis speaks at an event held by the Dallas Democratic Forum concerning the overturn of Roe v. Wade at the Arts District Mansion in Dallas on June 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas abortion funds likely safe from prosecution, federal judge rules
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman dismissed Attorney General Ken Paxton from the lawsuit, ruling he had no authority to enforce Texas’ abortion bans beyond state lines. Full Story
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![Dr. Franz Theard, looks at a patient's sonogram at his abortion clinic, Women's Reproductive Clinic of New Mexico in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on Jan. 13, 2023. Dr. Theard's abortion clinic, less than a mile from Texas, where abortion is illegal since the landmark legal case Roe v. Wade which protected a woman's constitutional right to an abortion was overturned, provides medical abortions for women who are flying and driving hundreds of miles across Texas.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein -
Speaker Dade Phelan endorses Medicaid expansion for new mothers, repeal of “tampon tax” in first batch of 2023 priorities
The leader of the state House also threw his support behind bills to crack down on how companies handle private data and to protect children from “addictive algorithms” by digital companies. Full Story
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![Dade Phelan begins his second term as Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 88th legislature on Jan 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott promises to be “heavily involved” in push for education savings accounts
In an interview with the Tribune, the governor also backed criminalizing some health care treatments for transgender kids and shrugged off the idea that he’s in a conservative policy rivalry with Ron DeSantis. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ shortage of mental health care professionals is getting worse
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already short supply of therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. Full Story
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![AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 14, 2023: Communities in Schools staff members Christy Mitchell, Dorothy Garza and Amara Nitibhon (left to right) pose for a portrait at Langford Elementary School in Austin, Texas on February 14, 2023. (Photo by Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
As COVID-19 grabbed the world’s attention, Texas’ efforts to control tuberculosis slipped
Responding to COVID-19 has taken so much attention and energy that some public health workers believe it pushed tuberculosis off people’s radar. Full Story
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge dismisses Wendy Davis’ challenge to Texas abortion ban
Davis, best known for her 13-hour filibuster of a 2013 abortion bill, sought to block the state’s ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. A federal judge found Davis had not “articulated a credible, imminent threat.” Full Story
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![A sign advertising an organization that offers services to abortion patients is on the wall at Whole Woman’s Health of Austin on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
This Texas town has the highest rate of youth attempted suicides in the state. A grieving father hopes to reverse it.
According to a new analysis by a national health care company, Lubbock has the highest rate of attempted suicides by children between the ages of 6 and 17. A local leader suggests a dearth of resources isn’t helping. Full Story
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![Adam Hernandez in a home on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in Lubbock, Texas. (Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas’ attorneys apply for clemency, citing mental illness
At issue is whether Thomas, who gouged out his eyes after confessing to the 2004 murders of his estranged wife, their son and her daughter, is competent to be executed in April. Full Story
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![The view of Texas' execution chamber from a witness viewing room.]()
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Texas sues to block Biden’s abortion medication guidance
In July, the Biden administration reminded pharmacies of their obligation to not discriminate in filling prescriptions, including for abortion-inducing drugs, many of which can be used to treat other conditions as well. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to supporters Paxton Watch Party Barn in Plano after being re-elected on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans heckle Biden over border remarks during State of the Union
Texas Republicans have long pressed President Joe Biden to do more to address border security and jeered at his remarks during his annual speech to Congress. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington, D.C., as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California watch.]()
Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool-USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Co -
Texans brace for the end of nearly three years of pandemic Medicaid coverage
Millions of Texans — mostly children, young adults and new moms — stayed on Medicaid for the duration of the pandemic. The state will soon start reevaluating eligibility. Full Story
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![Alexandria Robertson shows her daughters Novah and Kellani-Ari Wilson ultrasound pictures from her pregnancies in their home in Manor, TX on Feb. 2, 2023.]()
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Texas veterans vow to protect the state’s hemp market as one state lawmaker hopes to crack down
The new delta-8 hemp products, which are widely available, can produce a high similar to marijuana’s. State Sen. Charles Perry said he and his peers never intended for such products to reach the market. Full Story
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![Dave Walden, wearing a Veterans of Foreign Wars cap demonstrates how the CBD vending machine works by purchasing a product, in Leander on Nov. 1, 2022.]()
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Texas lawsuit that seeks to ban abortion drug nationwide sparks fear among advocates
A decision on the lawsuit could come as early as this week. Full Story
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![Thousands of people walk in a pro-abortion protest march around downtown San Antonio on June 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
For many Central Texans, latest bout of cold weather and outages reopens old wounds
Severe weather this week is confronting Texans with old problems and stirring up memories of previous crises. Experts say this can be a detriment to mental health. Full Story
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![A man attempts to scrape the ice from his truck windshield after a winter storm in north Austin on Feb. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
The Rio Grande Valley is at the epicenter of an Alzheimer’s spike among Latinos and is now the focus of new research efforts
Compared to other large states, fewer state dollars go to Alzheimer’s disease services in Texas. Now with more national attention on research here, could that change? Full Story
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![Photographs of her father, Tomas, decorate the home of Jessica Cantú. Cantú’s father received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2016.]()
Credit: Daisy Yuhas -
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
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