Tag Archives: abortion

The New Mexico abortion option

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This should come as a surprise to no one. Though abortions among residents are down the number of out-of-state women traveling to New Mexico for abortions has grown significantly over the past three years. According to state Department of Health … Continue reading →

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How much more “undue” does it need to be?

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

HB2 is doing exactly what it was intended to do. A new report released Thursday shows Texas abortion patients traveled farther for services and experienced higher out-of-pocket costs following the closure of more than half of the state’s legal abortion … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS also blocks Louisiana anti-abortion law for now

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Forgot to note this over the weekend. The Supreme Court handed down a brief order Friday allowing four Louisiana abortion clinics to reopen after they were closed due to a recent decision by a conservative federal appeals court. Last week, … Continue reading →

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Oral arguments before SCOTUS on HB2

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Monthly: It’s been a circuitous journey for HB2, the omnibus abortion bill the Texas Legislature passed 2013. Suits have been filed, the law has been overturned, appeals have been made. A collection of Texas abortion clinics, led by … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to hear HB2 oral arguments

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the big one. Before Wendy Davis took to the floor of the Texas Senate for an 11-hour filibuster that ultimately failed to stop sweeping new restrictions on abortion, there was Casey. Shorthand for Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 … Continue reading →

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The Scalia effect on current cases

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib highlights a few cases pending before the Supreme Court that could be affected by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Texas abortion law On March 2, the court will hear oral arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, … Continue reading →

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Federal judge smacks video fraudsters

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s gonna leave a mark. In a sharp rebuke, a federal judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction ordering abortion opponents not to release videos they had secretly made at meetings of abortion providers, and he added that the opponents’ … Continue reading →

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Video fraudsters offered probation

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

First the one, on Wednesday. A California woman charged last week for her role in the production of undercover videos at a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic will be offered probation, a Harris County prosecutor said in court. Sandra Susan Merritt, … Continue reading →

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How the tables got turned on the video fraudsters

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A must read. Planned Parenthood’s legal strategy was in some ways similar to how corporations facing major white-collar criminal investigations often cooperate closely with prosecutors to try to influence the outcome. From the start, Planned Parenthood and its Houston lawyer … Continue reading →

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Grand jury indicts Planned Parenthood video fraudsters

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sweet. A Harris County grand jury investigating allegations that a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston illegally sold the tissue of aborted fetuses has cleared the organization of wrongdoing and instead indicted two anti-abortion activists behind the undercover videos that sparked … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood sues over those anti-abortion sting videos

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Game on, indeed. Planned Parenthood is suing the people behind the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), the anti-abortion group that released a series of misleading videos this summer claiming that the women’s health organization sells fetal tissue for profit. “The … Continue reading →

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Two abortion stories

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The amicus briefs are being filed in the HB2 case. The Obama administration on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Texas abortion law that has shuttered nearly half the clinics in the state, saying the Republican-backed … Continue reading →

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Date set for SCOTUS HB2 arguments

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments about the constitutionality of Texas’ strict anti-abortion law on March 2, the justices announced Thursday, setting a date for a hotly anticipated fight that could affect women’s health policy across … Continue reading →

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The state was full of it all along on Planned Parenthood

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Shocked, shocked I am. Almost two months after Texas Republican leaders announced they would kick Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid, it hasn’t happened. The organization is still receiving federal and state funds to provide health care for about 13,500 low-income … Continue reading →

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The Mexican abortion option, part 3

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Between 100,000 and 240,000 Texans have attempted to terminate their pregnancies without medical assistance, according to new research released Tuesday. Based on interviews and a statewide survey, the unprecedented study by the … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood sues Texas

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Planned Parenthood’s Texas affiliates on Monday filed a federal lawsuit to keep state health officials from booting them from the state’s Medicaid program. Following Texas’ announcement in October that it would stop funding any care for poor … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to hear HB2 appeal

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Gird your loins. Setting up what could be a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a legal challenge to Texas’ 2013 abortion law, which could shut down about half of the state’s 19 remaining … Continue reading →

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HBU contraception lawsuit goes to SCOTUS

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether religious nonprofits should be required to provide birth control benefits to female employees even if the employers object to certain contraceptives on religious grounds. The court announced Friday that it … Continue reading →

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Feds warn Texas about Planned Parenthood

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what happens. The Obama administration has warned state officials that pushing Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program could put Texas at odds with federal law. Officials with the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contacted … Continue reading →

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State goes fishing against Planned Parenthood

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Days after Texas health officials announced they want to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state Medicaid program, state investigators on Thursday visited Planned Parenthood facilities in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. Investigators with the Texas Health … Continue reading →

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Texas vs Planned Parenthood, part one million

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This was going to happen sooner or later. Texas health officials say they are kicking Planned Parenthood out of the state Medicaid program entirely over what they called “acts of misconduct” revealed in undercover videos filmed earlier this year. Republican … Continue reading →

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Full Fifth circuit denies HBU in contraception lawsuit

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Still no joy for them. A federal appeals court will not reconsider its ruling, delivered in June, that the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive rules do not violate the religious freedom of church-based organizations in Texas. The religious organizations, including two … Continue reading →

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State asks SCOTUS to not take up HB2 appeal

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They win by default that way, so why would they want to have to take their chances? Texas attorney general Ken Paxton on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to turn away a legal challenge to the state’s abortion restrictions … Continue reading →

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Abortion providers go to SCOTUS

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope this works out. Texas abortion providers on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their legal challenge to two provisions of the state’s strict abortion law. After losing at the appellate level, a coalition of … Continue reading →

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Paxton files amicus brief in HBU contraception lawsuit

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does. Female employees of religious nonprofits should not be given insurance coverage for birth control if their employers object to certain contraceptives on religious grounds, according to a brief filed at the U.S. Supreme Court by Texas … Continue reading →

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Harris County DA to investigate Planned Parenthood clinic here

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I haven’t spent any time writing about the misleading attack videos on Planned Parenthood being put out by yet another shadowy anti-abortion group, so let me dispense with this. Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said Wednesday her office has … Continue reading →

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HBU appeals contraceptive case to SCOTUS

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Houston Baptist University on Wednesday turned to the U.S. Supreme Court in its battle to avoid providing employees with forms of contraception it finds morally objectionable. The appeal of a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling … Continue reading →

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Clinics consider reopening

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the decisionmaking process, that’s for sure. Abortion providers cheered a move by the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily block part of a Texas law that would have closed more than half the state’s 19 … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS puts HB2 back on hold

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. For now, anyway. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with Texas abortion providers and temporarily put on hold a ruling that would have closed about half of the state’s abortion facilities. There were 19 abortion providers performing the … Continue reading →

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Off to SCOTUS for HB2

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

If they want to hear it. Abortion is back before the U.S.A Supreme Court, and the justices could signal by the end of June whether they are likely to take up the biggest case on the contentious subject in nearly … Continue reading →

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The Fifth Circuit still sucks

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They also blow. A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a request from Texas abortion providers to temporarily put on hold a ruling that could leave Texas with nine abortion facilities. Abortion providers had asked the U.S. 5th Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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New hope against the sonogram law?

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Possible new hope, but not any time soon. Attorneys who represented Texas doctors in a lawsuit against the state’s 2011 abortion sonogram law are considering their legal options following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Monday decision not to revive a similar … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit does it again on HB2

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Awful. In a blow to the state’s abortion providers, federal appeals judges on Tuesday upheld a state law requiring nearly all Texas facilities that perform the procedure to meet hospital-like standards. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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The new closet

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From this Observer story about how Democrats finally managed to put a stake through Rep. Cecil Bell’s awful anti-same-sex-marriage-license bill, comes word of the legislative preference that dare not speak its name: [Rep. Jason] Villalba’s statements were a clear reminder … Continue reading →

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