Health Care
After Sarah Davis’ Election Defeat, Texas Reproductive Health Advocates Worry About Losing a Powerful Republican Ally
Democrats hoped to turn the Texas House blue. Instead they flipped just one seat: the most moderate Republican and only one to support abortion rights.
It was a Friday night in May 2019 when a six-hour House debate over a reproductive health bill ended the relative calm of Texas’ last legislative session. The...Read More
For Families That Lost Loved Ones or Jobs to the Pandemic, Thanksgiving Carries an Extra Weight This Year
This year’s pandemic has brought untold suffering to families across Texas. Making things worse: At a time when they might take solace in the company of friends or family, public health authorities are urging them to stay apart.
This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans—and engages wit...Read More
How We Got Here
Texas’ health system has been underfunded, understaffed, and unprepared for years. Here, COVID-19 found the perfect place to spread.
Texas’ health system has been underfunded, understaffed, and unprepared for years. Here, COVID-19 found the perfect place to spread. By Sophie Novack November...Read More
A West Texas Nursing Home Sent Its COVID-Positive Residents Elsewhere. Now Two of Them Are Dead.
Texas allows nursing homes to voluntarily accept COVID-positive patients from hospitals and other nursing homes. But there are no additional safeguards for the people sent there, and some of the facilities have a history of breaking rules.
John Wayne McDermett used to manage nursing homes. Now he lives in one. After serving 12 years as a rural county judge and working a stint as a disc jockey at a...Read More
The Forgotten Children of Texas
Each year, thousands of foster children in Texas are shuffled into little-known “treatment centers” where they are frequently neglected and abused. State officials have largely ignored allegations of wrongdoing and calls for reform.
The Forgotten Children of Texas Each year, thousands of foster children in Texas are shuffled into little-known “treatment centers” where they are frequentl...Read More
I Left My Friends in Prison in a Pandemic. Here’s What It’s Like For Them.
I receive phone calls from distraught friends inside complaining of unbearable heat, uncontrollable outbreaks, and paltry diets.
This story first appeared in the Guardian on October 9. When I first met my friend Melissa in prison, she impressed me with her ability to endure crisis with a ...Read More
Achieving Vision Zero in Houston Isn’t Going To Happen One Intersection at a Time
Eliminating the thousands of injuries and deaths that happen on Houston’s streets will require a reckoning that the car-heavy city does not appear ready to make.
Marjorie Corcoran, a professor, was biking to work. Sudipta Roy, studying to be a nurse, had ridden to campus to see her husband. Both were struck and killed, i...Read More
State Officials Tried to Cut Women’s Health Care During a Pandemic. It’s a Clear Reflection of Priorities.
The state health agency continues to propose cutting services for families while leaving fully intact a program that funds anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the crucial need for health care services, you might think state officials would work to reduce barriers to access. Ins...Read More
Conception Deception
An East Texas doctor who allegedly used his own sperm to impregnate patients remains in practice. Why has the Texas Medical Board let him keep his license?
In 1984, Pauline Chambless went to Dr. Kim McMorries in Nacogdoches for help after she struggled for more than a decade to have a child. After multiple attempts...Read More
Portraits of the Pandemic
There are people who lost their jobs, who miss their family, who worry about their kids. These are the stories of ordinary Texans dealing with extraordinary circumstances.
By Texas Observer Staff Illustrations by Lindsay Mound August 31, 2020—Nearly six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 600,000 Texans have been infect...Read More