The Brief: March 20, 2013
A Senate committee has advanced a controversial bill that critics say amounts to a backdoor abortion ban in Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Bill Would Exclude Elective Abortions in State Health Care Plans
The House Insurance Committee heard debate Tuesday on a bill that would prohibit the coverage of elective abortions in minimum state health plans, and would require women to opt into and pay more for abortion coverage. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Smithee (l), R-Amarillo, with a reporter off the House floor in 2011.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Group Aims to Repeal Required Waiting Period for Abortions
The Texas House Women’s Health Caucus has announced plans to try to repeal the 24-hour waiting period imposed by the abortion sonogram law that legislators approved in 2011. Full Story
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![Several volunteers pray outside a South Austin clinic where abortions are performed as part of the pro-life campaign 40 Days for Life]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
UT/TT Poll: Texans Favor "Fetal Pain" Proposal
Texans haven't changed their overall views on the availability of abortions. But a majority favors a "fetal pain" proposal that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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House Republicans File Fetal Pain Bill
Two House Republicans filed a “fetal pain” bill on Tuesday that would ban abortions 20 weeks after conception. Gov. Rick Perry has publicly expressed support for the measure. Full Story
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![Gov. Rick Perry at a press conference announcing his support for Texas Right to Life's Preborn Pain Bill in Houston on Dec. 11, 2012.]()
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Senate Panel Hears Testimony on Abortion Bill
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday considered legislation to tighten abortion restrictions. Full Story
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![Wooden crosses are planted outside the Whole Woman's Health center parking lot in McAllen, Texas.]()
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Video: Hundreds Crowd Capitol to "Rally for Life"
The state's Republican leaders each took turns at the microphone on Saturday afternoon to rouse what Gov. Rick Perry called a record crowd at the annual Texas Rally for Life. Full Story
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Newsreel: Women's Health, Guns and the Lege
In this edition of the Newsreel: Legislative debate over women's health funding, abortion and Planned Parenthood has started. This week is the 4oth anniversary of the Rove v. Wade ruling. Lawmakers are talking again about guns on campus. Full Story
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Bill Proposing Tax Break Targets Contraception Rule
A bill filed Thursday in the Texas House would give religiously based businesses a state tax break if the businesses chose not to comply with the federal government’s mandate that employers provide contraception coverage. Full Story
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TribLive: A Conversation About Family Planning
Full video of my January 22 TribLive conversation about family planning and women's health with state Reps. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Sarah Davis, R-West University Place. Full Story
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TribLive: Howard and Davis on Fetal Pain
At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Reps. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place, and Donna Howard, D-Austin, talked about the possibility of legislation in the 83rd session restricting access to abortions. Full Story
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Sarah Weddington: The TT Interview
On the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion — the lawyer who successfully argued the case talks with the Tribune about women’s rights and recent anti-abortion legislation Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Interactive: Are There Enough Women's Health Program Providers?
This interactive map shows the locations of Planned Parenthood clinics excluded from the new Texas Women's Health Program, overlaid with the non-Planned Parenthood providers that have agreed to treat state-subsidized patients in those areas. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman / Becca Aaronson -
Sarah Weddington: The TT Interview
On the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion — the lawyer who successfully argued the case talks with the Tribune about women’s rights and recent anti-abortion legislation. Full Story
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Credit: Becca Aaronson, Todd Wiseman -
Newsreel: Simpson for Speaker, Perry Backs "Fetal Pain" Bill
This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: State Rep. David Simpson is officially running for House speaker, but some former opponents of current Speaker Joe Straus are now sticking with the incumbent. Full Story
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Lawmakers Could Restore Family Planning Funds
When lawmakers passed a budget in 2011 that cut $73 million from family planning services, the goal was largely political: halt taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Now they are facing the policy implications and, in some cases, reconsidering. Full Story
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Abortion Opponents Back Fetal Pain Bill, More Physician Restrictions
Anti-abortion advocates in Texas championed a string of successful measures in the 2011 Texas legislative session. For the upcoming 2013 session, they are trying to up the ante. Full Story
![Wooden crosses are planted outside the Whole Woman's Health center parking lot in McAllen, Texas.]()
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Bill Renews Debate Over Rural Access to Abortion
If a new anti-abortion measure filed by Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, passes in the upcoming legislative session, women in remote corners of the state may have even fewer options to get the procedure. Full Story
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Texas Checkpoints Deter Illegal Immigrants Seeking Later Abortions
Women in the Rio Grande Valley who are seeking a second-trimester abortion must travel several hours north to access the procedure. Illegal immigrants face an additional hurdle: getting past internal checkpoints. Full Story
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![U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas.]()
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State Leaders Split With GOP Ticket on Abortion
Texas' Republican leaders believe that abortion should not be performed in instances of rape — a stance that is at odds with a prospective Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan presidential administration. Full Story
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Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller