Tag Archives: abortion

Bill targeting abortion pills appears to be dead

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Three cheers for the end of session death-by-calendar watch. A major Texas bill that was poised to offer a blueprint for abortion restrictions has likely died in the state legislature. Senate Bill 2880, a top priority for the state’s abortion … Continue reading →

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Trojan “abortion exceptions” bill passes

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For better or worse. A bill clarifying when doctors can perform abortions under Texas’ near-total ban will now go to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk after the House approved the bill with wide bipartisan support. Despite some concerns raised by conservative … Continue reading →

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Houston hospitals have done worse with the abortion ban than Dallas hospitals have

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Unacceptable. Nearly four years ago in Texas, the state’s new abortion law started getting in the way of basic miscarriage care: As women waited in hospitals cramping, fluid running down their legs, doctors told them they couldn’t empty their uterus … Continue reading →

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Maria Rojas appeals clinic shutdown order

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye on this. The Texas Attorney General’s Office can’t prove that a Houston-area midwife provided an illegal abortion, her lawyers say. In an appeal submitted to the Texas First Court of Appeals on Monday, lawyers for Maria Rojas … Continue reading →

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Just another reminder that abortion bans kill women

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

In case you needed it. Pregnant people living in states with abortion bans are almost twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, a report released Wednesday found. The risk is greatest for Black women in … Continue reading →

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More from Maria Rojas’ attorney

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff from the Press. During a March 27 hearing, Waller County District Judge Gary Chaney granted an injunction declaring that a network of three Houston-area clinics must remain temporarily closed. Marc Hearron, senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues San Antonio over abortion funding

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

First, this happened. In an election-year reversal, San Antonio city leaders voted 6-5 Thursday to fast-track distribution of $100,000 to organizations that provide reproductive services, including emergency contraception and transportation for out-of-state abortion care. Just months ago, city staff shut down a … Continue reading →

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A win for protecting the right to travel

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, but the legal fight is far from over. The state of Alabama cannot prosecute groups that help people leave the state for an abortion, a federal judge ruled late Monday. The decision — one of the first to … Continue reading →

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Maria Rojas’ attorneys get a chance to speak

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And surprise surprise, they say the charges against their client are long on bluster and short on facts. When the Texas Attorney General’s office announced its first arrest under Texas’ abortion laws, the court filings and press statements painted a … Continue reading →

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New York county clerk refuses to file judgment against Dr. Carpenter

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. A county clerk in New York refused Thursday to file a more than $100,000 judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, setting up a potential challenge to laws … Continue reading →

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Beware the trojan “abortion exceptions” bill

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Jessica Valenti warns us. Texas Republicans are poised to pull a fast one: They’ve convinced Democrats and doctors to support a bill they claim will protect life-saving abortion care and ‘clarify’ the state’s ban. But the rapidly advancing “Life of … Continue reading →

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Order issued to temporarily close Maria Rojas’ clinics

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This was expected. A Texas court has temporarily shut down a group of Houston-area clinics run by a midwife accused of performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine without a license. Waller County Judge Gary W. Chaney on Tuesday signed an … Continue reading →

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More on Paxton’s abortion arrests

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From Mother Jones. In what appears to be the first arrests of healthcare providers for allegedly violating a post-Roe v. Wade state abortion ban, Maria Margarita Rojas, a midwife working in the region around Houston, and her employee, medical assistant … Continue reading →

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Waller County midwife arrested on abortion charges

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Yikes. A Houston-area midwife has been arrested on allegations she performed illegal abortions, the first criminal charges brought under the state’s near-total abortion ban, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday. Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, was charged with the illegal … Continue reading →

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The Texas abortion ban effect on Colorado

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is probably something I should have seen coming. Texas’ abortion ban didn’t just affect Texans — it squeezed Coloradans’ access to care, delaying procedures and spiking second-trimester abortions, a new JAMA Network Open study suggests. Why it matters: While much of the focus … Continue reading →

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The Texas abortion ban has led to a sharp increase in sepsis

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The hits just keep on coming. Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion in 2021, ProPublica found in a first-of-its-kind data analysis. The rate of sepsis shot up more than 50% for women hospitalized when … Continue reading →

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Dr. Carpenter ordered to stop sending abortion pills to Texas

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re off. A Collin County judge has ordered a New York doctor to stop prescribing abortion-inducing medication to Texas residents and ordered her to pay a $100,000 fine. Thursday’s ruling is the opening salvo in what’s expected to be … Continue reading →

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Fighting back with Amy Hagstrom Miller

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Great article. In the frenetic days following the November election, longtime abortion provider Amy Hagstrom Miller spent a lot of time in meetings—some in person, some on Zoom—rallying her troops. As one of the most prominent, and tenacious, independent abortion … Continue reading →

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More on the legal attacks against Dr. Carpenter of New York

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Slate legal expert Mary Ziegler weighs in on Louisiana’s attempt to prosecute New York doctor Margaret Carpenter for sending abortion pills to a woman in that state. Dr. Carpenter has also been sued by Ken Paxton for the same thing … Continue reading →

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Of course minors are seeking out of state abortions, too

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What did you expect? At least 100 Texas children aged 17 and younger got abortions in other states during the first year after Texas banned the procedure, including six aged 11 and under, according to the latest state data available. … Continue reading →

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Louisiana indicts NY doctor for providing mifepristone

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And the stakes get raised again. A New York doctor was criminally indicted Friday for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a girl in Louisiana in what appears to be the first time an abortion provider has been prosecuted since Roe … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick says something about abortion

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Usually, when Dan Patrick says something should happen in the Legislature, he gets his way. With this, I’m not so sure he actually has anything in mind, and as such I’m not expecting anything. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Sunday … Continue reading →

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Where the Lege might go next on abortion

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

There’s always further to go. Last legislative session was the quietest in decades for abortion. After successfully banning nearly all abortions, Republicans were wary about continuing to push an issue that is widely unpopular with voters. This session, coming off … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues out of state abortion provider

Posted on December 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The thing about rot is that it has a tendency to spread. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit accusing a New York doctor of prescribing abortion drugs to a Texas resident in violation of state law. This … Continue reading →

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I do not expect any aspect of the rural health care problem to be addressed by the Lege

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, I just don’t see it happening. Twenty five years ago, the Texas Legislature passed a sweeping set of reforms to resuscitate the state’s collapsing rural health care system. Now, health care providers, advocates and local leaders are proposing similarly … Continue reading →

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Texas does not want to know what the post-Dobbs maternal mortality rate is

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not at this time, and not if it can help it. Texas officials will not investigate pregnancy-related deaths for 2022 and 2023, skipping over the years immediately following the state’s controversial abortion ban, which critics say has led to more … Continue reading →

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The legislative attacks on mifepristone are coming

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready. A Louisiana law that reclassified abortion-inducing drugs as controlled substances has made it more difficult for doctors to treat a wide range of gynecological conditions, doctors say. Now, a similar proposal has been filed in Texas. Texas Rep. … Continue reading →

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Porsha Ngumezi

Posted on November 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Remember her name. Wrapping his wife in a blanket as she mourned the loss of her pregnancy at 11 weeks, Hope Ngumezi wondered why no obstetrician was coming to see her. Over the course of six hours on June 11, … Continue reading →

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Time once again for another “future doctor shortage” post

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This continues to seem bad. Texas’ new abortion laws are stressing the state’s already beleaguered OB/GYN workforce, and threatening the pipeline of new doctors that would help provide relief, a new survey shows. More than 70% of practicing OB/GYNs in … Continue reading →

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If we’d listened to OB-GYNs in the first place we wouldn’t be having these problems now

Posted on November 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I very much appreciate what they’re saying, but let’s be honest, their words will have no effect. The newly reported deaths of two pregnant Texans sparked a renewed plea from Texas OB/GYNs, including dozens in the Houston-area, for lawmakers to … Continue reading →

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Well, that sucked

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s about 10:30 PM as I write this, and I don’t care to stay up any longer. The national situation looks dicey, but it’s not yet clear what will happen. I’ll put that off for now. It was bad here … Continue reading →

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A brief list of things I’ll be watching for today

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

In no particular order… 1. I don’t expect Democrats to win statewide in Texas. It would be great, it would do a world of good, but I’d be setting myself up for disappointment if I start there. What I want … Continue reading →

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John Devine continues to be an ethical quagmire

Posted on November 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This guy, I swear. In January 2022, Elvie Kingston’s dementia took a turn for the worse. The 76-year-old millionaire and longtime conservative activist was declared by a doctor to be partially incapacitated, after which she signed legal documents that removed … Continue reading →

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Nevaeh Crain

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

ProPublica said it had two stories of women who died after being unable to get an abortion during a miscarriage. This is the second one. Candace Fails screamed for someone in the Texas hospital to help her pregnant daughter. “Do … Continue reading →

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