Tag Archives: Texas Medical Association

SCOTx has its abortion case hearing

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The Supreme Court of Texas heard arguments Tuesday in a landmark case that could impact how the state’s abortion laws apply to medically complicated pregnancies. In August, state District Judge Jessica Mangrum ruled that the near-total abortion … Continue reading →

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The business brief against the state abortion ban

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Would like to see a lot more co-signers on this. Forty Texas companies and business leaders are entering the fight against Texas’ abortion ban, filing a brief with the Texas Supreme Court that argues the “ambiguity” in the law’s medical … Continue reading →

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More plaintiffs in the lawsuit to allow exemptions to Texas’ super strict anti-abortion law

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

SCOTx will take up that appeal soon. When Kimberly Manzano’s doctor first noticed some irregularities with her pregnancy, she turned to God, praying constantly for good news. When the diagnosis worsened, she and her husband sought comfort in the Bible’s … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit hears EMTALA appeal

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Keep your expectations very low. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday about whether the federal government can require Texas hospitals to perform life-saving abortions, despite the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. After the overturn of … Continue reading →

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Judge grants order allowing exemptions to anti-abortion laws

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some late Friday breaking news. A Texas judge on Friday issued a temporary exemption to the state’s abortion ban that would allow women with complicated pregnancies to obtain the procedure and keep doctors free from prosecution if they determined the … Continue reading →

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Hearing in the lawsuit to clarify exceptions to Texas’s harsh anti-abortion law

Posted on July 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s hoping for some good news. One woman could barely get words out through her tears. Another ran to the restroom as soon as she was done, wordless, wretched sobs wracking her tiny body. A third threw up on the … Continue reading →

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More plaintiffs join lawsuit against Texas over abortion restrictions

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. One woman had to carry her baby, missing much of her skull, for months knowing she’d bury her daughter soon after she was born. Another started mirroring the life-threatening symptoms that her baby was displaying while in the womb. … Continue reading →

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More on the lawsuit that seeks to clarify exceptions to Texas’ forced birth laws

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of interesting articles to read to enhance our understanding of the lawsuit filed by five women who claim that Texas’ anti-abortion laws have harmed them. From Vox: In theory, even after the Supreme Court’s anti-abortion decision in Dobbs v. … Continue reading →

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Five women harmed by Texas’ anti-abortion law file a lawsuit over it

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this ought to be interesting. Five women who say they were denied abortions despite grave risks to their lives or their fetuses sued the state of Texas on Monday, apparently the first time that pregnant women themselves have taken … Continue reading →

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Restraining order granted in Paxton’s EMTALA lawsuit

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Texas hospitals will not be required to provide emergency abortions after a federal judge ruled the Biden administration was unauthorized to enforce such a rule. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in Lubbock ruled that the guidance by the … Continue reading →

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When abortion is outlawed, pregnant people will be denied health care

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s already happening. The Texas Medical Association is asking state regulators to step in after it says several hospitals afraid of violating the state’s abortion ban have turned away pregnant patients or delayed care leading to complications, The Dallas Morning … Continue reading →

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No Roe roundup

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have a good title for this post, but I do have a collection of stories. Planned Parenthood files restraining order against Texas Right to Life. Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas and its affiliates filed a temporary restraining order … Continue reading →

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Reactions to the maskless mandate

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s start with the doctors, since clearly they weren’t consulted. Houston-area doctors and medical professionals reacted with dismay to Gov. Greg Abbott’s Tuesday decision to roll back the state’s mask mandate and other precautions against COVID-19. “I had a pretty … Continue reading →

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The bar conundrum

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Halloween this year in downtown Austin was a raucous affair. Nightclubs advertised dancing and drink specials. Thousands of people crowded 6th Street, partying shoulder to shoulder, some with masks and some without. All of this happened as bars in … Continue reading →

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Mayor Turner asks GOP to not hold its convention

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. The city of Houston will deploy health inspectors to enforce COVID-19 restrictions at the Texas Republican Convention, and potentially shut down the event if guidelines aren’t followed, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday. In a letter to … Continue reading →

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State GOP will have its convention

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I hope they don’t kill any convention or hotel workers as a result. Beyond that, I don’t know what to say. The Texas GOP’s executive committee voted Thursday night to proceed with plans to hold the party’s in-person convention in … Continue reading →

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Maybe that Republican convention won’t happen after all

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

First, there was this. The Texas Medical Association is encouraging Texans to practice social distancing, stay home when possible and wear masks to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. But despite the potential mixed message it may send, the … Continue reading →

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Doctors against bathroom bills

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. [Last] week, the American Medical Association (AMA), the country’s largest medical organization, took several actions to solidify their defense of transgender people. This included a resolution opposing any policy or legislation — like “bathroom bills” put forth in North Carolina and … Continue reading →

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“Fetal remains” rule goes into effect

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Cue up that next lawsuit. Texas’ proposed rules requiring the cremation or burial of fetal remains will take effect Dec. 19, according to state health officials. Despite intense outcry from the medical community and reproductive rights advocates, the state will … Continue reading →

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The next abortion lawsuit should be on its way

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We were warned it would need to happen. Despite intense outcry from the medical community, reproductive rights advocates and funeral directors, Texas isn’t budging on a proposed rule to require the cremation or burial of fetal remains. Following an initial … Continue reading →

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Health insurance exchange open enrollment, Year 3

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The challenge, in a nutshell. In rural Borden County, 12 people signed up for Obamacare this year. Livid over the government telling them they must buy something and loath to take anything that looks like a “handout,” the uninsured here … Continue reading →

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Abbott would like to restore the uninsured rate

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what he does. Greg Abbott on Monday urged his fellow Republicans not to “rescue” President Barack Obama’s signature health care law if it is torpedoed by the U.S. Supreme Court, an unusually public stance that could make the first-term … Continue reading →

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Medical marijuana gets its committee hearing

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t know that it will get more than just that committee hearing, however. House Bill 892 would legalize oils containing CBD, a non-euphoric component of marijuana known to treat epilepsy and other chronic medical conditions. By 2018, the measure would … Continue reading →

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More on the Texas Compassionate Use Act

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron covers the legislation that has been introduced to loosen medical marijuana laws just a bit. The twin bills, both authored by Republicans and supported by lawmakers across the aisle, await hearings in Senate and House subcommittees. The bills … Continue reading →

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Banning e-cigarette sales to minors

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You’d think this would have a decent chance of passing. Legislators in Texas, one of just nine states that permit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, will consider banning such sales amid concerns about growing use of the “safer” alternative … Continue reading →

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It’s still not Medicaid expansion

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Legislature may do something that could sort of be called “Medicaid expansion”, if only for lack of a better term, but we would all do well to remain deeply skeptical of what they might consider. The once taboo subject … Continue reading →

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Expand Medicaid or else

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out the federal government has more leverage over Texas than you might think. If Texas wants to keep receiving billions of federal dollars to help hospitals care for uninsured patients, state lawmakers may have to look again at expanding … Continue reading →

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Cheerleading is now a sport in Texas

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is a real thing. Cheerleading will finally get its tryout from the University Interscholastic League. After a hearty debate and a failed first vote, the UIL Legislative Council approved a one-year pilot program to hold a league-sanctioned cheerleading competition … Continue reading →

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More on Texas Left Me Out

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer reports on the launch of Texas Left Me Out. Members of the coalition pointed to two different studies that estimate that thousands of uninsured Texans with chronic conditions are likely to die as a result of not expanding Medicaid. A Harvard … Continue reading →

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Four things to work on now that the omnibus anti-abortion bill is reality

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

1. Organize, organize, organize. Maintain the energy and sense of urgency that originated with the #StandWithWendy filibuster. This is a good way to draw people in while the iron is hot. Progressives and Planned Parenthood took their opposition to the … Continue reading →

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Better late than never, I guess

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Way to be ahead of the curve, y’all. A resolution endorsing the expansion of Medicaid was approved by Texas Medical Association delegates Saturday at the group’s annual meeting in San Antonio. “The patients need the care and, if we pass … Continue reading →

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TMA sort of endorses Medicaid expansion

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Hard to say what this means. Trustees of the Texas Medical Association passed a resolution urging state leaders to snare all federal Medicaid matching dollars that are on the table. The group hinged its support, though, on simultaneous actions by … Continue reading →

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Testifying about the Women’s Health Program

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

More hearings like this, please. The Texas Department of State Health Services got an earful today from lawmakers and women’s health advocates at a public meeting in Austin to discuss proposed rules for the Texas Women’s Health Program — specifically, … Continue reading →

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The first rule of women’s health

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Is don’t talk about things that make certain Republicans queasy. A proposed state rule that would prohibit doctors in Texas’ Women’s Health Program from discussing the option of abortion with their patients — even if the patient asks about it … Continue reading →

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