ABORTION

As the conservative-leaning Supreme Court this week signaled that it may dramatically limit abortion rights, polling suggests Americans want Roe v.

Beginning today, a new law restricts abortion-inducing medication, the most common abortion method in Texas.

But some Texas nonprofit groups dedicated to paying for the medical costs of abortion say they have more money than patients to give it to — a likely symptom of fewer people being able to access the procedure because of the new law.

Texas has passed legislation that ensures abortion would be made a felony if Roe v. Wade is overturned “wholly or partly,” as the court considers Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.

Female clergy say the state's new abortion restrictions fail to consider women's lives.

For two months, providers have had to work in a sort of limbo as they wait to see if the new law passes the Supreme Court's review.

Unsure of how broadly the “aiding and abetting” portion of the law could be applied, Sueños Sin Fronteras — which helps women with an array of basic needs — is launching a legal defense fund.

Abortion rights groups are asking the court to declare Texas’ law unconstitutional. It's unclear what the outcome of this latest challenge against the controversial law will be or what weight it could hold overall.

Most voters approve of using state money to add border barriers between Texas and Mexico. But 57% disapprove of a new abortion law’s provision allowing lawsuits against people who help someone get the procedure.

A gun rights group filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to Texas’ abortion law, fearful that similar statutes could be crafted in other states to target gun ownership.

Appointment wait times at out-of-state clinics since the law’s implementation were longer than those in July 2020, according to the study.

The proceedings on Monday revealed how attorneys representing abortion providers, Texas and the federal government are defending their cases and opened a window into how the justices might rule.

Anti-abortion groups and reproductive rights activists faced off outside the U.S. Supreme Court as it heard Texas' abortion case.

Garza, a former lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, had been running to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville. U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, is now running for Vela's seat after redistricting made Gonzalez's seat more competitive for Republicans.

Six justices — including two who voted against blocking Senate Bill 8 when it first went into effect — voiced concern that other states could replicate the controversial law’s enforcement mechanism.

Since 2000, Texas lawmakers have reduced the number of abortions in the state by restricting access to the procedure.

In South Texas, poverty and immigration status compound the obstacles facing pregnant people seeking abortions.

The high court’s proceedings will focus on how Senate Bill 8 is enforced. It’s hard to predict what the court could decide, but its ruling will likely determine the future of abortion care in Texas and shape the legal battles to come.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Reese and Brian about Monday’s oral arguments in the Supreme Court over the state’s near-total abortion ban and a lawmaker’s request to investigate books in school libraries.

Genetic screenings can help determine if a fetus will have certain conditions — or even be viable. But those usually occur at the end of the first trimester, long after Texas' new abortion law bans people from terminating their pregnancies.

The U.S. Department of Justice asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in on the ongoing case, but Texas argues that the federal government lacks the standing necessary to overturn the law.

The controversial issues you’ve heard Texas lawmakers debate for most of the year aren’t going away; many of them will be argued all over again during the 2022 elections.

Court decisions have gone back and forth on the law’s enforceability over several weeks.

Biden administration says it will ask US Supreme Court to halt Texas law that has banned most abortions since September.

Senate Bill 8 barred abortions as early as six weeks, before many people know they are pregnant. It is the strictest abortion ban in the nation.

The judge who blocked enforcement of the new abortion restrictions in Texas said lawmakers knew it was unconstitutional and tried to prevent federal courts from saying so — and said he wanted to keep other states from copying the idea.

Texas officially appealed two days after a federal judge temporarily blocked the new law.

Because of the way the law is written, it appears that clinics and doctors who performed abortions outlawed by the statute even while the block was in effect would now be vulnerable to lawsuits.

In this week’s TribCast, Matthew speaks with Alexa and Reese about the ongoing court fights over Texas’ new abortion law and the redistricting process in Texas.

The ruling late Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman doesn’t protect providers who perform abortions while the Texas law makes its way through the courts.

It wasn't immediately clear how the temporary order may affect access to abortions in the state. The law is constructed in a way that people who violate it could be liable to litigation if enforcement is reinstated.

Planned Parenthood had requested that the court reverse a decision to indefinitely pause the lawsuit, which was filed in Travis County district court.

Thousands turned out at demonstrations across the state and protested Texas’ new abortion restrictions. Texas Tribune photographers were there.

A panel of five judges indefinitely blocked the lawsuits last week upon the request of an anti-abortion group.

The U.S. sued Texas after the Biden administration vowed to oppose Texas’ new near-total abortion ban. The lawsuit joins several legal challenges already in progress.

Pope Francis has repeated the Catholic stance that abortion is “murder,” a day after the tiny republic of San Marino became the latest Catholic state to legalize the procedure.

The U.S. House is trying to override Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. But Democrats likely lack the support they need in the U.S. Senate.

The Supreme Court had previously declined to block the law but didn't rule on its constitutionality.

At least two lawsuits were filed after Dr. Alan Braid said he performed an abortion prohibited by the law earlier this month. One of the people suing Braid reportedly wants Texas’ new abortion law to be ruled unconstitutional.

The Biden administration also issued memorandums detailing two federal statutes officials says they would enforce to provide protection for patients who may need an abortion and health care providers who assist pregnant patients in certain situations.

State Sen. Bryan Hughes authored the six-week abortion ban and the elections bill and carried other conservative priorities that grabbed national attention.

Instead of immediately acting on the request, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Pitman set an Oct. 1 hearing to consider arguments before ruling. The law will have been in effect for one month by that time.

On this week's TribCast, Matthew speaks with Allyson, Patrick and Reese about the court battles over Texas' abortion law and Abbott's call for a third special session.

The law will be carried out by civilians “deputized” to do what the state cannot: enforce its new restrictive abortion law. Here’s where the process is laid out in the statute and what it means.

Most abortions previously performed in the state are now outlawed through a mechanism that makes providers and those who help people get abortions subject to lawsuits. That unique approach has so far allowed Texas to flout Roe v. Wade and other legal rulings, experts say.

Garland called the law a "scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States." It prohibits the procedure before many people know that they are pregnant.

Here's how the timeline works.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Democrats on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee urged the Department of Justice to take action against citizens who file suits against abortion seekers under the new law.

The facilities had a responsibility to patients who needed other reproductive services, said Jeffrey Hons, CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Texas.

"Today is a historic day for the rights of all Mexican women," said Supreme Court Chief Justice Arturo Zaldivar on Tuesday.

The US Justice Department pledge comes after a near-total ban on abortions took effect in the state.

Garland provided no details of how federal officials may challenge one of the nation’s strictest bans on abortion. His statement came days after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the law, at least for now.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement Monday on Texas’ new abortion law that said violence against women will not be tolerated.

Abortion rights defenders promptly seized on the state's brief, noting that until now Mississippi had portrayed its appeal as far more limited.

Voters in Gibraltar have endorsed legislative changes that will ease the British territory’s current ban on abortion

US Catholic leaders begin a process that may call for the president to be barred from Holy Communion.

Critics say the fast-growing Alternatives to Abortion program is secretive and a...