“God bless you for being here”: A new West Texas clinic revives health care options in a rural community
A nurse practitioner aims to provide health care as rural hospitals close and it becomes harder to access preventive care. Full Story
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![Family Nurse Practitioner John Hodges stands in front of his practice at Ralls Family Medicine in Ralls on Sept. 1, 2022. Ralls is a small town about 30 miles east of Lubbock.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Mom says trans eighth grader was questioned by Texas investigator at school
A declaration recounting the incident was filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit by LGBTQ legal advocates. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Council hear public testimony at a meeting in Austin on March 11, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Top Texas health official who led response to coronavirus pandemic is retiring
Dr. John Hellerstedt, who has led the Texas Department of State Health Services since 2016, will retire at the end of the month. Dr. Jennifer Shuford, the chief state epidemiologist, has been named his interim replacement. Full Story
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![Dr. John Hellerstedt, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services at a press conference where Gov. Greg Abbott declares a statewide emergency amid new cases of COVID-19 in the state, on March 13, 2020 at the state Capitol.]()
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How to care for your mental health in the age of climate change and worsening natural disasters
Call or text 800-985-5990 to reach the national Disaster Distress Helpline, or dial 211 to find local mental health resources in Texas. Full Story
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![Barbara Edmonds, right, practices applying pressure on a wound on Deborah Berry during a CERT training at Felix Cook, Jr. Elementary School in Houston on August 1, 2022.]()
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“It’s destroying me”: Storm after storm, climate change increases strain on Texans’ mental health
Tens of thousands of coastal Texas residents have survived repeated extreme weather events including Hurricane Harvey. For many, it has taken an emotional toll, and researchers warn that climate change could be “catastrophic” for our mental health. Full Story
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![Dana Jones, who has been a victim of many floods, holds her head in her hand as she recounts her experiences at her home in Houston on August 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Religious employers need not cover PrEP in their health plans, federal judge rules
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s ruling could threaten access to sexual and reproductive health care for more than 150 million working Americans on employer-sponsored health care plans. The ruling will likely be appealed. Full Story
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![A PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medication.]()
Credit: ABACA via Reuters Connect -
Video: As San Antonio abortion clinic closes, its director worries about who is left behind
In August, movers arrived at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services to help the abortion clinic pack up for a move out of state. Full Story
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![A few pieces of medical equipment are all that remain to be packed up inside the Alamo Women's Reproductive Service's Clinic in San Antonio on July 29, 2022. The clinic is closing its doors and moving to Carbondale, Illinois and Albuquerque, New Mexico to provide services there.]()
Credit: Alejandra Sol Casas for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott said rape victims can take Plan B. But emergency contraception isn’t widely available for the state’s poorest people.
Abbott said that victims of rape could take Plan B to prevent a pregnancy. Due to the state’s health care landscape, accessing emergency contraception may not be feasible for low-income Texans. Full Story
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![A display of Plan B test kits in a coffee shop in Wolfforth.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ child welfare agency told staffers to keep quiet about gender-affirming care investigations, documents show
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services leaders instructed employees to avoid written communications about the cases and barred low-level employees from handling the investigations, according to internal agency communications. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services offices in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Harris County resident with monkeypox dies, marking first death in the U.S. linked to the virus
State health officials said the person was “severely immunocompromised” and are still investigating what role the virus played in the death. Full Story
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![An electron microscopic (EM) image shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles as well as crescents and spherical particles of immature virions, obtained from a clinical human skin sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak in this undated image obtained by Reuters on May 18, 2022.]()
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“I would wish this on absolutely no one”: How three women dealt with pregnancy in the year since Texas’ six-week abortion ban
The Texans expressed anger, sorrow, frustration and fear in discussing their experiences after state lawmakers approved one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws in 2021. Full Story
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Watch: Volunteer acompañantes in Mexico aid at-home abortions. Their network is expanding to Texas.
In parts of Mexico where abortion has not been legalized, women rely on volunteer networks to provide medication and emotional support for at-home abortions. As access to abortion is shut down in Texas, similar networks are being built in the U.S. Full Story
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![Sandra Cardona left, and her wife Vanessa Jiménez, pose for a photo at their home near Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico on June 27, 2022. They are part of the network “Necesito abortar,” ‘I need to have an abortion’ and they have turned an upstairs room into “La Abortería,” ‘the abortion place’ where people that are seeking to terminate their pregnancy can take the abortion inducing pills in comfort and privacy. Them along with other volunteers provide what they call accompaniment to people that have these kind of abortions by being there for emotional support, to provide information, and or assistance while the person goes through this process.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Video: Acompañantes en México ayudan a realizar abortos en casa. Su red de apoyo se expande a Texas.
En algunos estados de México, donde el aborto todavía no es legal, redes de acompañantes proveen medicamento y apoyo emocional para que las personas puedan realizar abortos en casa. Debido a que el acceso al aborto en Texas es cada vez más limitado, estas redes están comenzando a formarse en Estados Unidos. Full Story
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![Vanessa Jiménez, leads a training related to accompaniment for people who decide to have an abortion at her home near Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico on June 27, 2022. Vanessa Jiménez, and her wife Sandra Cardona, not pictured, are part of a network called, “Necesito abortar,” ‘I need to have an abortion’ and they have turned an upstairs room into “La Abortería,” ‘the abortion place’ where people that are seeking to terminate their pregnancy can take the abortion inducing pills in comfort and privacy. Them along with other volunteers provide what they call accompaniment to people that have these kind of abortions by being there for emotional support, to provide information, and or assistance while the person goes through this process.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
How a little-known group convinced the Texas State Board of Education to reject lesson plans on consent
A Newsy investigation reveals a push by organized groups to stop schools from teaching skills that advocates say are critical to preventing sexual assault. Full Story
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![High school students walk to their next class after the bell rings at Elsik Ninth Grade Center in Houston on March 28, 2018.]()
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College-bound Uvalde students grapple with leaving a hometown in mourning
The students worry how the tragedy will define them in their new environments and struggle with guilt about the people they’re leaving behind. Full Story
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![From left: Jaime Cruz and Ariana Diaz stand under a live oak tree growing in the middle of the street in Uvalde on Aug. 18, 2022.]()
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Texans who perform abortions now face up to life in prison, $100,000 fine
Texas, the largest state to restrict abortions, now has three significant bans on the books, setting up a potential legal minefield. Full Story
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![Police formed a line to prevent protesters from walking down Third Street at a rally for abortion rights in Austin on June 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: We’re sunsetting our COVID-19 data tracker
After nearly two and a half years, we’re no longer tracking daily coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations in Texas. Full Story
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Biden administration can’t force Texas hospitals to provide emergency abortions, judge rules
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had said hospitals in states with abortion bans must perform emergency abortions in some instances. Full Story
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![Demonstrators march against the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which virtually bans abortion in the state of Texas, on June 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Abortion-rights groups sue Texas AG, prosecutors to protect ability to help pregnant Texans seek legal abortions in other states
The suit comes two days before the state’s newest abortion ban, triggered by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, goes into effect. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, speaks at a press conference at the Houston Recovery Center on October 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Watch: With a “feeling of betrayal,” one family flees Texas in search of safer climate for their transgender daughter
Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate parents who provide their children with gender-affirming care, driving one such family to leave home. Full Story
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![Ess Welsh.]()
Credit: Lauren Santucci for The Texas Tribune
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