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‘Heart-Wrenching, Gut-Wrenching’: How Child Therapy Providers Deal with State Budget Cuts
Lawmakers have given providers an impossible task: deliver the same level of services to more kids, with far less money.
Sophie Novack
Sophie Novack is an editor and reporter at the Texas Observer, where she mostly writes about public health. She was previously a staff correspondent at National Journal in Washington, D.C., where she covered health care nationally and started reporting on reproductive health policy in Texas from afar. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Dartmouth College.
Articles by Sophie Novack
Indoctrinated
A Catholic hospital in Austin forces patients who miscarry to consent to fetal burials. For one woman, that made a painful loss even worse — and she worries it could soon become routine across Texas.
What’s Going on with Texas’ Maternal Mortality Rate?
The truth about women dying from pregnancy-related causes is more complicated than it seems. We help make sense of things.
In Her Own Letter to Trump Officials, Texas Republican Fact-Checks Ken Paxton’s False Claims on Women’s Health
In response to an Observer story, state Representative Sarah Davis wrote a letter urging the Trump administration to deny the Texas health agency’s request to regain control over federal family planning funds.
Texas AG Ken Paxton is Very Angry About Women’s Health Programs He Doesn’t Seem to Understand
Paxton is trying to frame a looming battle over federal family planning dollars as one over abortion and Planned Parenthood.
Anti-Vaxxers are Claiming Victory After Texas Primaries. Will Their Influence Grow?
"We’re in for some rough sledding next legislative session," said a prominent vaccine advocate.
‘Get High With Ricki Lake!’: New Film on Medical Marijuana Leaves Out Texas Families
Featuring heartrending stories, Weed the People aims to change the stigma around cannabis treatment — but fails to look much outside its California bubble.
How Anti-Vaxxers are Injecting Themselves into the Texas Republican Primaries
“If we don’t do something quickly, the blood of our children will be on our hands,” said Republican Representative Jason Villalba.
In the Texas Legislature, Sexual Harassment Complaints are Rarely Filed, Haphazardly Maintained and Then Destroyed
Despite the Legislature’s reputation for sexism and sexual harassment, there are no official complaints on record in either chamber. What’s happening to allegations?
Texas’ Medicaid Waiver is a Ploy to Pay Even Less for Women’s Health
Despite state officials’ claims to the contrary, a waiver request for Texas’ low-income women’s health program wouldn’t expand access, advocates say.