Federal judge in Texas strikes down key ACA provision regarding preventive care services
A federal judge in Texas found the appointment of the volunteer body issuing preventive care requirements, unlawful. Full Story
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![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 Senate scales back proposed restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender kids
Senate Bill 14 would now allow trans children who are already receiving some transition-related treatments to continue getting that care. The Senate gave initial approval to the reworked legislation Wednesday. Full Story
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![People chant during the Trans Kids Call for HELP! rally in front of the Governor's Mansion in Austin on March 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Pandemic Medicaid coverage is ending. Here’s what that means for people using Medicaid health benefits.
Texas is reviewing the eligibility of people on Medicaid health plans or Healthy Texas Women now that pandemic Medicaid coverage is ending. Here’s what that means, how to renew your health coverage or find other options if you no longer qualify. Full Story
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![A nurse dons full PPE before entering the room of a COVID-19 patient at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on Wednesday, August 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill advancing in the Senate would block minors from updating gender on birth certificates
Opponents of the bill call it a “power play aimed at making the lives of transgender children as difficult as possible.” Full Story
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![A protester waves a transgender pride flag during a protest at the University of North Texas in Denton on March 23, 2022.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Bill eliminating tampon, diaper sales taxes OK’d by Texas House
The proposal would remove sales tax on diapers, baby wipes and bottles; feminine hygiene products including tampons, sanitary pads and menstrual cups; maternity clothing; and products for pumping breast milk. Full Story
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![Sanitary products are seen on shelves at a supermarket. A tax on sanitary products has been abolished in Britain, in a change hailed by the government as a result of Brexit.]()
Credit: Jane Barlow/PA Wire/dpa -
Some Texas groups resume funding out-of-state abortions after court ruling
A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in February, blocking a limited number of prosecutors from going after anyone who helps a Texan travel out of state to terminate a pregnancy. This has given some abortion funds confidence to resume operations. Full Story
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![Londin Mair protests for abortion access at the Capitol on Oct. 2, 2021.]()
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Transgender Texans and doctors say Republican lawmakers misconstrue what science says about puberty blockers and hormone therapy
In 2021, a bill that would block transgender kids’ access to transition-related care passed the Senate but died in the Texas House. This year, a majority of House members back such a ban. Full Story
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![People held up a transgender flag at an event held by Equality Texas at the Capitol in Austin on Wednesday, April 14, 2021]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
SNAP recipients will see a cut in food benefits starting this month
During the pandemic, Texans received extra money on their Lone Star cards through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, also known as food stamps. That extra money ends this month. Full Story
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![Central Texas Food Bank volunteers carry boxes of food donations to waiting vehicles at Del Valle High School in Del Valle on Jan. 23, 2021. Roughly 700 families were served by the food drive in the first hour and a half.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
In abrupt retirement letter, an investigations director decries Texas’ “untenable” child welfare agency
Sharon Fonvielle-Baughman said Texas Department of Family and Protective Services leadership has failed to support the special investigators division, a unit created in 2005 to handle the most high-risk cases. Full Story
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![Sharon Fonvielle-Baughman, director of special investigations at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, resigned on Thursday, March 23, 2023.]()
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Bills call for Texas teachers to be trained to administer lifesaving overdose drugs to students
Texas is attempting to address the fentanyl crisis gripping schools by having staff learn how to administer lifesaving medication. Full Story
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![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 -
Caseworkers hampered by ’90s-era foster care software that the state hasn’t replaced
Caseworkers and foster care providers often get incomplete and inaccurate information about foster kids in their care because of the state child welfare agency’s archaic technology system. Full Story
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![A Texas Department of Family and Protective Services employee’s desk at the agency's Austin office on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate panel advances bill that would hinder transgender kids’ access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies
Senate Bill 14 would ban doctors from providing kids with transition-related treatments that medical groups recommend for children with gender dysphoria. Full Story
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![Protestors participate in a rally against Anti-Trans legislation at the southern steps of the state capitol on April 28, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
How an old law found new life in lawsuit seeking to revoke approval of abortion pill
Anti-abortion advocates are trying to revive the long-dormant 1873 Comstock Act, which banned mailing of anything related to abortion or contraception, in a lawsuit about mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug. Full Story
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![Abortion rights supporters gather in front of the federal courthouse in Amarillo on March 15, 2023.]()
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Watch an April 13 conversation with Texas Tribune journalist Roxanna Asgarian about her new book
Asgarian, a law and courts reporter for the Tribune, will talk about her new book, “We Were Once a Family,” a deeply reported story of a murder-suicide that claimed the lives of six children. Full Story
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Watch a conversation about school safety and the mass shooting in Uvalde
In this conversation moderated by Texas Tribune editor in chief Sewell Chan, panelists discussed lessons that must be learned after 19 children and two adults were fatally shot at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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Houston language advocates race to keep their one small request from disappearing in Capitol bedlam
Woori Juntos began the legislative session hoping to win over a majority of legislators to their cause — making it easier for Texans who speak no or limited English to communicate with state agencies and access crucial services. First, they needed a lawmaker to file their bill. Full Story
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![Hyunja Norman, executive director of Woori Juntos, leads her group through the state Capitol rotunda as they make their way to their next lawmaker meeting on Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Advocacy Day on March 9, 2023. The group hoped to speak with lawmakers and seek support for bills that would improve language access for Korean and Spanish speakers in regards to health and social services,]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Why health care is still hard to access in rural towns near Texas’ bigger cities
Bigger cities like Lubbock can unintentionally suck health care resources and professionals from smaller towns, creating what one local expert calls the “doughnut effect.” Full Story
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![Main Street in downtown Ralls on Sept. 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG Ken Paxton pushes court to reconsider injunction halting investigations into affirming care
In the state’s final brief to appeal a September injunction that halted the investigation into Texas parents of transgender children, Paxton argued that individual families must provide evidence of harm from the actions of the Department of Family and Protective Services. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 26, 2022. Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Texas v. Texas, the enforcement of the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as they waited for hearings in U.S. immigration court. (Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune).]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge hears challenge to FDA approval of abortion drug
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said he would rule “as soon as possible” on the request for a preliminary injunction that would move mifepristone, a common abortion-inducing drug, off the market. Full Story
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![Kathy Thomas, far left, holds a sign that reads “abortion is healthcare” during the Women's March protest outside of the Federal Courthouse in Amarillo, on March 15, 2023. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk hears a motion by anti-abortion groups, led by Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, to pull mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortion, off the market.]()
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Federal judge at center of FDA abortion drug case has history with conservative causes
U.S. District Matthew Kacsmaryk was once deputy counsel for the First Liberty Institute, the Plano-based conservative Christian law firm. Full Story
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![Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.]()
Credit: U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas