The Texas Legislature is having big battles over gender and sexuality. Track them here.
Lawmakers are quietly pushing bills that would limit access to bathrooms and measures preventing trans people from changing government documents. Full Story
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![Attendees wave a trans flag while marching with over 300 activists and supporters from the Bexar County Courthouse to Crockett Park in “March for Us,” San Antonio's third annual celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, on Saturday, March 29, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.]()
Credit: Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune -
String of law enforcement suicides rattles first responders and exposes gaps in state support
Four people tied to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office committed suicide recently, calling attention to ongoing mental health struggles among law enforcement. Full Story
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![Dustin Schellinger poses for a photo on Sunday, April 6, 2025 in Coppell, Texas. After loosing two close friends to suicide within six months of each other, Schellinger found that there were not many resources for law enforcement who were struggling and sought to find an opportunity to help.]()
Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republican lawmakers unwilling to change abortion laws to address doomed pregnancies
For the first time since Texas outlawed nearly all abortions, lawmakers are clarifying the “life of mother” exception. But they don’t plan to address cases where the fetus won’t survive. Full Story
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![Taylor Edwards poses for a portrait in the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2025. In 2023 (?), Edwards had to travel out of the state to receive an abortion after learning the child she was carrying would not survive the pregnancy.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Federal public health cuts could cost Texas $700 million
State and local health agencies are having to cut programs and staff to make up the loss and more cuts could be coming. Full Story
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![A funding meeting at the Texas Department of State Health Services building in Austin on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Among the topics discussed were concerns regarding federal funding and a current measles outbreak in parts of Texas.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
State offers specific measles guidance for 10 West Texas “outbreak” counties
State health officials added four more counties to what they consider “outbreak areas” and advise those visiting or living in those counties to consult measles vaccination guidance for those areas. Full Story
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![Signs inform people of measles prevention and testing at the Gaines County Court House in Seminole on Sunday on April 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Push for Texas to weaken vaccine mandates persists as measles surge
Much of the outbreak is concentrated in the districts of Texas House leaders, including Speaker Dustin Burrows. The crisis appears to have done little to change support for “vaccine choice.” Full Story
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![Signage in English, Spanish and German inform people of measles prevention in the Gaines County Court House in Seminole on April 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ clarifying abortion bill draws criticism
While Democrats and abortion access advocates pushed to ensure pregnant women aren’t criminalized, some conservatives questioned whether this bill is needed. Full Story
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![An empty emergency room at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on August 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
A second Texas child has died from measles; RFK Jr. visits
About 500 Texans, mostly young unvaccinated children, have contracted the disease. The U.S. health secretary was in West Texas to visit the family. Full Story
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![People stand outside of a Mennonite church in Seminole after a funeral for an 8-year-old girl who died of measles on Sunday, April 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues San Antonio over abortion funding
Attorney General Ken Paxton previously sued the City of Austin for helping residents travel out-of-state for abortions. Full Story
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![Pedestrians walk by La Antorcha de la Amistad sculpture in downtown San Antonio on Nov. 2, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Lubbock’s public health director fights to stop measles and build public trust
Katherine Wells was celebrated early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then public health became a political litmus test. Full Story
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![Director of Public Health Katherine Wells, MPH, looks through one of the vaccine logs that show who and when vaccines were given. Wells and her staff are working to stem the measles outbreak in the Lubbock area as well as throughout Texas. Wells was in the City of Lubbock Health Department Monday afternoon, Mar. 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Join us April 22 in Lubbock for a conversation on strengthening maternal health care in Texas
We’ll hear from those on the front lines about how we can work together to improve women’s health outcomes, and why doing so helps everyone Full Story
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Telehealth for pets? It’s the cat’s meow, a Texas lawmaker says.
Animal health care experts raised concern that telehealth would lead to misdiagnosis and erode what little care already exists in rural Texas. Full Story
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![Genna Deleon, 32, vet technician, holds Roco, an 11-year-old Silky Terrier, during a wellness visit at the Spay Neuter Network Crandall clinic in Crandall on Sept. 27, 2024.]()
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Ken Paxton wants Dallas school officials under oath on transgender athlete policy
Paxton’s office launched an investigation into the district’s policy after an administrator was caught on tape discussing a possible loophole in the state’s ban. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses the crowd during a rally at the Tarrant County Republican Party Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Lawyers for Houston-area midwife accused of illegal abortions condemn state’s investigation
Maria Rojas’ attorneys got their first chance to address the claims against her Thursday. She was released on bond but a judge ordered the clinics to remain closed. Full Story
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![On March 27, 2025, Clinica Waller Latinoamericana, one of Maria Margarita Rojas' network of clinics in Waller, Texas, remains closed after a Waller County judge granted a temporary injunction prohibiting the facilities from providing medical services. Rojas, a licensed midwife, has been charged with the illegal performance of an abortion and practicing medicine without a license.]()
Credit: Hope Mora for The Texas Tribune -
Abortion opponents laud bill that would clamp down on pill providers and out-of-state abortions
Some health care providers in support of Senate Bill 2880 said people who are mailed abortion pills aren’t given instructions and do not receive follow-up care. Full Story
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![An examination room in Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio on June 14, 2022.]()
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Critics: Texas bill to clarify abortion ban won’t save lives
Senate Bill 31 supporters say it would clarify when doctors should intervene to save a pregnant woman’s life, but critics say its vagueness and a measure to resurrect pre-Roe laws hamper it. Full Story
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![A patient returns for a follow up appointment to make sure her abortion treatment was successful hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade at the Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services abortion clinic in San Antonio on June 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he’ll push for special session if THC ban, bail changes fail
Only Gov. Greg Abbott can call for a special session. But in his role presiding over the Texas Senate, Patrick can block any bill from passing, giving him leverage to compel overtime sessions by killing must-pass legislation. Full Story
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![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Do-it-yourself mental health: Community college students band together to pitch solutions
Students from Texas and across the country are getting help to generate new ideas for campus support systems — and to turn those ideas into reality. Full Story
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![Having dealt with mental health issues himself, Elijah Gregory is now working to create a support group for other students at North Central Texas College. He’s part of a national program that encourages college students to brainstorm new ways to address students’ mental health needs.]()
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Health officials say federal cuts will hurt Texas’ measles response
Federal grants paid for workers to help with measles testing and vaccination in Lubbock and were going to help equip a Dallas lab to test for pathogens, including measles. Full Story
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![The City of Lubbock Health Department on Feb. 27, 2025.]()
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How Texas Republicans plan to keep cracking down on abortion
A flurry of bills aims to restrict the flow of abortion pills into the state and abortion seekers traveling out of the state. Full Story
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![Misoprostol on the shelf at Parker Road Drug Store in Greenville, S.C., on June 13, 2024.]()
Credit: McKenzie Lange/The Greenville News via REUTERS