HEALTH CARE

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.

Amanda Zurawski developed a life-threatening infection last year after her water broke when she was only 18 weeks pregnant. Citing the state’s abortion ban, her doctors refused to intervene to induce labor even though there was no way her baby would survive.

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.

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.

A decision on the lawsuit could come as early as this week.

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.

Abbott lauded the efforts of the anti-abortion movement after a landmark year for opponents of the procedure.

Abbott doubles down on his long-standing call to lawmakers to prohibit local governments from enacting mask and vaccine mandates.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat, introduced a package of legislation that includes a bill that would end qualified immunity, which shields government officials from liability for constitutional violations.

The department’s helpline is less than a year old. But advocates hope state lawmakers fully fund it as farmers and ranchers continue to face hard economic times and isolation.

Women in Deep East Texas drive over an hour to give birth after the last obstetrics unit in the area closed in 2019. But if closing the unit was hard, reopening it is proving nearly impossible.

In conservative Sabine County, it’s hard for teens to access contraception or sex education beyond lessons on abstinence. The Deep East Texas region has one of the highest teen birth rates in the state.

The Title X program has long provided free, confidential contraception to anyone, regardless of age, income or immigration status. A North Texas federal judge ruled in December that the program violates Texas law and parents’ rights.

The infectious disease doctor has been at the helm of the department in an interim capacity since the fall, replacing longtime commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt following his retirement.

The research teams are expected to focus on traumatic brain injury, stem cell research, drug development and anti-shock therapies.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a former religious liberty lawyer, found that a federal program that gives teens access to birth control denies a parent “a fundamental right to control and direct the upbringing of his minor children.”

Fatal crashes in rural areas accounted for 51% of Texas’ 4,489 traffic fatalities in 2021, even though only about 10% of the state’s population lives in a rural area, according to data from the state’s department of transportation.

On this week’s TribCast, Matthew speaks with Eleanor about a long-awaited state report on maternal mortality in Texas and Alex about cities’ efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

The Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee report, delayed by more than three months, estimates that up to 90% of the deaths may have been preventable. Severe complications from pregnancy and childbirth also increased significantly.

Local officials, echoing Glenn Hegar, say the current maps are flawed and the process to lodge complaints is cumbersome.

A Texas Democrat is proposing a constitutional amendment stopping future abortion restrictions. Voters would have to approve it — but Republican lawmakers aren’t likely to put it in front of them.

Due in September, the report was delayed to allow a full review of 2019 cases, the state health agency said. That review didn’t change the findings.

The court’s ruling does not overturn the 2021 law, which banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. It also does not impact the near-total bans on abortion that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

After more than 92,000 deaths and 8 million reported COVID-19 cases in Texas, the state remains one of less than a dozen still under a statewide disaster or public health emergency.

Texas policies targeting access to health care for transgender youth forced one family to leave the state.

The announcement signals a shift in Abbott’s approach to fighting the opioid epidemic. He had previously pushed back against bills calling for the decriminalization of fentanyl testing strips.

A rural hospital hasn’t closed in Texas since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020. That could change as federal relief ends.

Turner, 68, revealed earlier this month that he underwent treatment for bone cancer in June. He is “cancer-free” as of last week, the mayor told The Texas Tribune during his first interview about his health.

A dearth of nurses is leaving Texas seniors — especially in rural areas — without care.

Thousands of bills are expected to be filed for the legislative session that begins in January. Lawmakers are expected to have a budget surplus when they return to Austin.

As public debate intensifies over how the state will divvy up billions in new money, community groups that treat children for mental illness fear they’re not a priority.

In conservative Kansas and Kentucky, voters turned out in droves and crossed party lines to support abortion access. In Texas — where candidates, not issues, were on the ballot — there was no such surge in support.

Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the state’s grid and the Uvalde shooting.

More than two-thirds of Texans support Medicaid expansion. But on the eve of the midterm elections, the subject is still taboo for the state GOP. Why?

Downtowns are deserted, hospitals are closing, teachers are leaving. Every part of life in rural Texas is harder — but it’s worth saving.

First lady Jill Biden and U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy were in Texas Sunday to help members of their respective parties energize voters before Election Day.

Whole Woman’s Health, which owned the building for nearly two decades, said they were “duped” after the doctors who bought the building sold it to the McAllen Pregnancy Center.

The Texas Tribune spoke with LGBTQ voters, the parents of queer youth and advocates from across the state about what’s at stake for them this November.

Several new studies show that not everyone denied access to abortions in Texas can travel out of state, but more people than ever before are seeking ways to self-manage abortions with medication at home.

After two years of mild flu seasons, Texas hospitals are seeing high rates of respiratory illnesses among children. A shortage of pediatric beds has forced some families to seek treatment out of state.

The latest infusion was among $874.6 million in “emergency” budget transfers requested by the Texas Legislative Budget Board, which is composed of GOP state leaders and budget writers.

Texans are headed to the polls for the first time since the procedure was essentially banned across the state. Texas Tribune women’s health reporter Eleanor Klibanoff explains how each ballot cast influences the future of abortion policy.

Access to health care is limited in rural Texas. The mobile clinic operated by Beaumont-based TAN Healthcare aims to close that gap.

Polling shows that a majority of voters in Texas oppose the state’s near-total ban on abortion, but they ranked the topic ninth on a list of most important issues facing the country.

While not detailing how the distribution might be funded, Abbott said the medication, Narcan, should be distributed to law enforcement agencies as well as some hospitals and schools.

The funds will help expand the Dallas facility into a long-term spinal cord injury treatment center and pay for a new health care facility in El Paso.

As overdoses skyrocketed amid the pandemic and the fentanyl crisis, advocates across the state are working discreetly to distribute these supplies as part of a practice to combat substance use disorder known as harm reduction.

A federal judge who previously quashed the subpoena ruled that the attorney general must take the witness stand in a lawsuit from abortion funds.

The debate, the candidates’ first and likely only one before the November election, begins at 7 p.m. Central time in Edinburg.

Texas agencies say they are being hammered by a historic staffing crisis, particularly when it comes to those in the trenches serving the state’s most vulnerable populations.

An anti-abortion protest of about 20 stood right next to the larger group in support of pro-abortion rights. Both crowds had a mix of younger and older participants taking part in each’s version of popular protest chants.

Filipe Ribeiro of Doctors Without Borders Afghanistan talks to NPR about the future of the country's health care system under Taliban rule.

Rush University Medical Center is mandating COVID-19 vaccines for its workers, joining at least a handful of other Chicago area hospitals that are also requiring the shots.

The average stock in the index entered 2019 with a projected 24% gain, according to Bespoke. Company analysts see only modest upside for stocks overall this year, a rare view for the normally bullish crowd. For the 10 largest stocks, two Apple and JP Morgan Chase are already trading above their average price target. Consumer staples, financials and utilities are the three sectors with the lowest average upside, all below 3%. Energy is the only sector that cracks double digits, with the average price target 15.2% above the stock price.