HEALTH CARE

Texas joins over a dozen other states restricting transgender minors from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies. Opposing legal groups have vowed to sue to stop the new law from taking effect.

For one Round Rock teen, getting accepted to Harvard was her ticket out of a state that she says is hostile to trans youth. Now Texas will ensure young people like her no longer have access to gender-affirming care.

Now that Texas has a near-total ban on abortion, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are trying to make sure colleges are serving students who are pregnant or have children.

A committee of House and Senate members agreed to a plan to extend Medicaid coverage for a year after childbirth — with a controversial anti-abortion amendment attached. The bill now goes to both chambers for a final vote.

The adolescent clinic treated eating disorders and menstrual complications. It also offered gender-affirming care — which is still legal for now but triggered an investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxton.

New moms will be able to keep their health insurance for a full year under a proposal the Senate passed Sunday. A last-minute anti-abortion amendment means the bill will go back to the House.

Priority bills that died include a 10-year minimum sentencing for gun-related crimes, a ban on “critical race theory” at public universities and LGBTQ-related legislation. While the bills may be dead, lawmakers have a limited time to attach their ideas to legislation that are still alive.

The Legislature recently passed a bill that would bar minors from receiving this medical care, but it has not yet been signed or gone into effect.

House Bill 63 is an attempt to reduce the amount of vindictive or false child abuse reports made to the state, but child advocates say it will deter valid reports, too.

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and advocates have thrown their support behind extending Medicaid coverage for a full year after childbirth. The full Senate will now have the opportunity to consider the bill, which has already passed the House.

If Senate Bill 14 becomes law, the ban would take effect on Sept. 1. This would also make Texas one of over a dozen states that restrict transition-related care for transgender minors.

Federal pandemic aid helped build public school mental health services in Texas. School officials now brace for the expiration of those funds next year. They’re urging lawmakers to create a dedicated funding stream for mental health assistance in schools.

Attorney General Ken Paxton previously announced an investigation into “potentially illegal” activity. Parents are scrambling to find transition-related care for their kids as the Legislature appears poised to ban it altogether.

Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police last week. A majority of Texas House members support the legislation, and the Senate has already passed a version of the bill.

Texas’ abortion laws look likely to remain about where they were at the beginning of the legislative session, as key deadlines pass without any movement on abortion-related bills.

Texas still lags nationally when it comes to mental health services and there have been seven mass shootings since Abbott took office in 2015.

On the same day the Texas Legislature is set to debate Senate Bill 14, a proposed ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids, the attorney general files a request to examine documents related to the use of puberty blockers and counseling for trans youth.

Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police earlier this week. Bill supporters and opponents again showed up at the Capitol for an expected vote Friday.

The list of potential hurdles includes property tax cuts, school choice, the power grid, the state budget, plus diversity and tenure in higher education.

House Bill 3377 was authored by freshman state Rep. Venton Jones, the Legislature’s first openly HIV-positive member. It’s received overwhelming public and bipartisan support.

In the months leading up to their committee hearing, Woori Juntos community members trained on how to share their personal stories with legislators — in their own language.

The women are accused of helping their friend terminate her pregnancy, but they now claim her ex-husband, who brought the lawsuit, knew she had obtained the medication and did nothing to stop her.

Long an opponent of vaccine and mask mandates, the Republican said pharmaceutical companies may have misrepresented data. Pfizer strongly disagrees.

As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions.

Texas wants to expand mental health services, but many mental health providers do not accept Medicaid because of its lower payment rate.

The legislation is in response to elected prosecutors in Texas’ large, left-leaning counties who have said they will not prosecute abortion cases.

Stuck in committee, the test-strip legislation has support from Gov. Greg Abbott and bipartisan lawmakers, who see it as a way to save lives.

In a key step on their quest to make state services more easily available to non-English speakers, advocates from Houston’s Woori Juntos community group testified before a panel of lawmakers.

A report from the Migration Policy Institute and the American Academy of Pediatrics details the barriers undocumented children face in the United States.

During a Texas Tribune event marking one year since the shooting at Robb Elementary School, parents, mental health experts and faith leaders talked about how the path to recovery isn’t the same for everybody.

The Senate advanced a bill that could create such high financial risks for doctors and health insurers that they’d stop providing or covering gender-affirming care — even for adults.

The legal challenge to mifepristone now returns to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The window is closing for Woori Juntos in its pursuit of legislation to improve language access to state health programs.

New moms would be able to maintain their health insurance for up to a year after childbirth under the proposal, which also passed the House last session. The Senate previously reduced it to just six months of coverage.

There are $5 billion and several political wedges standing between the House and Senate plans, which now move into conference committee with less than five weeks before session ends.

With six weeks remaining in the legislative session, advocates implored Texans to join the “resistance” against fast-moving efforts to curb health care, drag queens, education, trans athletes and more.

The U.S. Supreme Court originally planned to weigh in on the abortion pill case by Wednesday night, but extended the hold on the Amarillo ruling until Friday at midnight.

In this week’s episode, we discuss an attempt to use the courts in Texas to restrict the use of an abortion drug and Gov. Greg Abbott’s potential pardon of an Army sergeant found guilty of murdering a protester in Austin.

Both of Texas’ Republican senators voice support for Irma Carrillo Ramirez’s nomination to the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The proposal would offer hospitals and nonprofits grant funding to expand child and family mental health services.

The bipartisan legislation is an expansion on the state’s 2015 “Compassionate Use” law, which has allowed a growing number of patients to legally use cannabis to treat debilitating symptoms of conditions such as epilepsy, autism, cancer and PTSD.

The bill would take fentanyl test strips off the state’s “drug paraphernalia” list, meaning it would no longer be a crime to carry them.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo could potentially upend access to medication abortion nationwide.

The “One Pill Kills” campaign is funded with the help of a federal grant, and the statewide Narcan distribution is being paid for with funds from Texas’ settlement agreement with opioid manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.

Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican, was diagnosed at age 27 with a rare genetic kidney disease that occurs when the immunoglobulin A antibody builds up in the kidneys.

In a first-of-its-kind survey of public water utilities, the EPA estimates that 7% of water lines in Texas, more than 647,000, are lead based. It’s the fifth-highest proportion of lead-based water lines in the country.

The Senate approved Senate Bill 14, which would ban transition-related care for transgender kids. Republicans had previously voted to allow kids currently receiving such care to continue doing so.

A federal judge in Texas found the appointment of the volunteer body issuing preventive care requirements, unlawful.

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.

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.

Opponents of the bill call it a “power play aimed at making the lives of transgender children as difficult as possible.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Texas is attempting to address the fentanyl crisis gripping schools by having staff learn how to administer lifesaving medication.

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.

Senate Bill 14 would ban doctors from providing kids with transition-related treatments that medical groups recommend for children with gender dysphoria.

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.

Bigger cities like Lubbock can unintentionally suck health care resources and professionals from smaller towns, creating what one local expert calls the “doughnut effect.”

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.

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.

U.S. District Matthew Kacsmaryk was once deputy counsel for the the First Liberty Institute, the Plano-based conservative Christian law firm.

Marcus Silva of Galveston alleges three of his ex-wife’s friends helped her illegally get abortion pills to end her pregnancy.

Coffee, the last living member of the legal team that argued the landmark abortion case, put her archive up for auction. Beck bought it for $600,000. He says it will fit in with his “German eugenics” collection.

The state has added more beds for jail inmates who need psychiatric treatment to be considered competent to face trial. But at least a third remain empty because the state can’t hire enough people to staff them.

Pregnancy forced Destiny Williams to quit her job. She almost died during childbirth. Now with a newborn in tow, she’s struggling to build a more stable life for her and her children.

Budget proposals would boost state spending for the current budget cycle for projects ranging from mental health hospitals to state pay raises. This would leave $27 billion in surplus for next two years.

Texas largely conducts its state business in English and Spanish. It falls to interpreters like Terry Yun to help people scale the wall dividing them from crucial government services.

Five women announced a new lawsuit Tuesday, marking the first time patients directly affected by new abortion laws have sought to challenge them in court.

Texas lawmakers this year are debating whether to block transgender kids’ access to transition-related health care, classify businesses that host drag shows as sexually oriented establishments and limit public school lessons on sexuality and gender identity.

Davis, who is best known for her 13-hour filibuster to block a 2013 abortion bill, joins the group at a low point for reproductive rights in Texas.

The leader of the state House also threw his support behind bills to crack down on how companies handle private data and to protect children from “addictive algorithms” by digital companies.

In an interview with the Tribune, the governor also backed criminalizing some health care treatments for transgender kids and shrugged off the idea that he’s in a conservative policy rivalry with Ron DeSantis.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already short supply of therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers.

Responding to COVID-19 has taken so much attention and energy that some public health workers believe it pushed tuberculosis off people’s radar.

Davis, best known for her 13-hour filibuster of a 2013 abortion bill, sought to block the state’s ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. A federal judge found Davis had not “articulated a credible, imminent threat.”

According to a new analysis by a national health care company, Lubbock has the highest rate of attempted suicides by children between the ages of 6 and 17. A local leader suggests a dearth of resources isn’t helping.

At issue is whether Thomas, who gouged out his eyes after confessing the 2004 murders of his estranged wife, their son and her daughter, is competent to be executed in April.

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.