Latest Contributions

• Part 1: In 1998, a legal revolution was quietly born in Texas. It would pull America’s courts rightward.

  By Eleanor Klibanoff July 31, 2023

  With his election as Texas attorney general, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn planted the seeds of conservatism. Gov. Greg Abbott used his tenure to cultivate them into an aggressive strain of right-wing activism aimed at driving the nation’s courts and laws to the right. Full Story 

• Tearfully testifying against Texas’ abortion ban, three women describe medical care delayed

  By Eleanor Klibanoff and Rebecca Schneid Updated: July 20, 2023

  The women, believed to be the first to testify about an abortion ban’s impact on their pregnancy since 1973, are seeking to clarify when a medical emergency justifies an abortion. Full Story 

• 500,000 Texans have been dropped from the Medicaid rolls since April

  By Eleanor Klibanoff July 17, 2023

  Advocates are calling for a halt to removals until the state can account for why more than 80% of the people who lost Medicaid coverage were eliminated for “procedural” reasons, like not responding to messages from the state. Full Story 

• Lawsuit seeks to block Texas from banning gender transition-related care for children

  By Eleanor Klibanoff and William Melhado Updated: July 20, 2023

  The families argue the new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, violates their parental rights by stopping them from providing medical care for their children and discriminates against transgender teens. Full Story 

• Nearly 10,000 more babies born in nine months under Texas’ restrictive abortion law, study finds

  By Eleanor Klibanoff June 30, 2023

  This is the first analysis of live births since the law, which banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, went into effect in September 2021. Full Story 

• A year after Dobbs decision, Texas has settled in to a post-abortion reality

  By Eleanor Klibanoff June 23, 2023

  The impact of Texas’ near-total ban on abortion is coming into focus as patients and providers leave the state, legal challenges languish and the state’s social safety net braces for a baby boom. Full Story 

• After an Austin employee gave birth to a stillborn baby, she was disqualified from parental leave. Now, city leaders want change.

  By Eleanor Klibanoff June 15, 2023

  Two days after delivering a stillborn baby, an Austin Public Health employee was notified she would not qualify for the city’s eight weeks of paid parental leave. Full Story 

• This year, Texas lawmakers zeroed in on existing health care programs, leaving bolder measures by the wayside

  By Stephen Simpson, Eleanor Klibanoff and Karen Brooks Harper June 8, 2023

  Pregnant moms on Medicaid will get health care coverage for a year, patients will get more detailed billing and nurses will get help with school loans. But efforts failed to gain steam for legalizing fentanyl test strips, increasing the pool of mental health professionals who accept Medicaid and expanding Medicaid benefits to more Texans. Full Story 

• Texas Legislature passes bill reining in “rogue” prosecutors

  By Jolie McCullough and Eleanor Klibanoff May 28, 2023

  The GOP priority legislation could remove prosecutors from office if they don’t pursue certain crimes. The bill gained traction after some Democratic district attorneys said they would not prosecute abortion-related crimes. Full Story 

• All eyes on Sen. Angela Paxton as Texas Senate takes up her husband’s removal

  By Eleanor Klibanoff May 28, 2023

  Ken Paxton helped elect his wife, Angela, to the state Senate. That chamber will now consider whether to remove him from the attorney general’s office. She has not said whether she will recuse herself. Full Story