The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
An expert in COVID-19 treatment says there's growing evidence the virus increases the risk of pregnancy complications, and booster shots aimed at the delta variant are on the way. Full Story
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As Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to punish any school district that defied Abbott’s ban on mask mandates, Republican legislators were largely indifferent on the matter. Full Story
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Garland provided no details of how federal officials may challenge one of the nation’s strictest bans on abortion. His statement came days after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the law, at least for now. Full Story
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Caseloads have left districts scrambling when many have said they have fewer tools at their disposal to combat the spread of the virus. Full Story
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The Texas Medical Association called two anti-abortion bills unconstitutional and criticized the U.S. Supreme Court for not blocking the broader law from going into effect. Full Story
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Texas’ near-total ban on abortions is sending patients out of state for the procedure. Advocates say many immigrants and women of color can’t leave, and that’s increasing the inequities their communities suffer. Full Story
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Senate Bill 8, which allows anyone to sue anyone who performs or aids in an abortion, marks an unprecedented change to who has standing to bring a lawsuit. The tactic is also an emerging trend in Republican-dominated states that may compromise constitutional rights, some legal experts said. Full Story
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The numbers have stayed within a few hundred of a grim milestone as the state battles the pandemic’s latest surge. Full Story
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The country just noticed what Texas was doing, and although Texans have been watching the debate over this anti-abortion law all year, even some of them were surprised at how quickly the legally protected right to abortion disappeared. Full Story
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Medical and reproductive health experts say the reference to a heartbeat is medically inaccurate as an embryo does not have a developed heart at six weeks’ gestation. Full Story
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the Supreme Court's decision not to halt the law "an injustice" and Vice President Kamala Harris promised the administration would defend abortion rights. Full Story
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From abortion restrictions to guns, the Texas Legislature's regular session Republican victories were just the beginning. Full Story
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Texas’ strict new law sends patients scrambling for alternative ways to access abortion, including out-of-state clinics and “self-managed” procedures. Full Story
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The decision came as major providers in the state said they had canceled most of their abortion appointments and advocates fretted that the procedure had been all but banned in Texas. Full Story
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Stressed health workers are now confronting volatile visitors and patients. “The verbal abuse, the name-calling, racial slurs … we’ve had broken bones, broken noses,” said one hospital official in Dallas. Full Story
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Senate Bill 4, which was advanced by the Texas House on Monday evening, would bar access to abortion-inducing pills to patients who are more than seven weeks pregnant. Full Story
The law, which is one of the most restrictive in the country, is scheduled to go into effect Wednesday. Full Story
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So far the state has paid to hire more than 8,000 contract health care workers as hospitalizations from COVID-19 in Texas approach the record set last winter. Full Story
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Abbott says local district attorneys have the authority to enforce his ban on local mask mandates. But urban DAs are unlikely to go after their fellow local officials. Full Story
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Those in the 30-49 age range were hospitalized this month at nearly double their rate in January, the pandemic's previous peak in Texas. Full Story
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