Health Care
A Texas Anti-Abortion Group Dramatically Missed its Family Planning Targets. Now its Founder is Suing the Federal Government for More Money.
Molly Ivins on Universal Health Care
Politicians have been debating and dancing around universal health care for 25 years.
Editor’s Note: This month, we’re reprinting some of our favorite Molly Ivins columns in celebration of her birth month and the upcoming wide release...Read More
The Trauma of Teen Mothers Held in Border Patrol Lockups
“My baby has not eaten a full meal in 15 days. I am very worried and don't know what to do,” said a 16-year-old from El Salvador.
On May 28, Border Patrol picked up a 16-year-old Honduran girl who had crossed the Rio Grande with her 8 month-old-infant, and sent the young mother and her chi...Read More
Meet the ‘Abortion Abolitionists’ Shaping Policy in the Texas GOP
The most extreme anti-abortion group in the state has gained momentum this year and now claims to have 90,000 members.
With the far right ascendant in Texas politics, once-marginal ideas and people have found a place in the political mainstream. Our recurring Fringe Factor serie...Read More
Texas’ New Medical Marijuana Law Doesn’t Cover Veterans Suffering from PTSD
The Legislature recently passed medical cannabis reform, but the debate was marred by misinformation and left out people who say the drug eases their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
When Dave Bass returned from Iraq to Texas in 2005, doctors diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It’s a familiar problem for combat vets;...Read More
Yet Another Rural Texas Hospital is in Jeopardy After Anti-Tax Activists Kill Funding Proposal
As rural hospitals struggle across the state, local voters killed a proposition to create a hospital taxing district meant to keep a facility in La Grange open for the foreseeable future.
The voters of Fayette County have spoken, and they’ve said that they don’t need a hospital in this rural community of 25,000 people, one hour southeast of A...Read More
Texas Legislature Improves Suicide Prevention in Schools, but Makes Little Progress for Adults
Suicide is quiet crisis in Texas, especially in rural communities. As the dust settles on the 86th Legislature, advocates say most initiatives to curb suicide deaths failed.
This year, the Texas Legislature had a chance to address suicide, an urgent public health problem that claimed the lives of 3,800 Texans in 2017. The crisis is ...Read More
Inside Texas’ Failed Experiment to Replace Planned Parenthood with an Anti-Abortion Group
The Heidi Group’s quick rise and fall is a cautionary tale of prioritizing politics over proven health providers.
The Heidi Group’s quick rise and fall is a cautionary tale of what happens when government prioritizes politics over health care. – by Sophie Novack Jun...Read More
Warning Signs
Rural East Texas has some of the highest suicide rates in the state. But the safety net for people who need help is being stretched thin, and some Texans are falling through.
Rural East Texas has some of the highest suicide rates in the state. But the safety net for people who need help is being stretched thin, and some Texans are fa...Read More
Texans with Disabilities are Struggling to Find Health Care Attendants. Lawmakers Didn’t Do Much to Help.
Community attendants had their $8-per-hour base wage boosted by only 11 cents this session — significantly less than what the governor and state health department requested.
Disability rights advocates say there is a crisis facing community attendants and the people who rely on them. Statewide, about 300,000 attendants help disabled...Read More
