Tag Archives: abortion

Dude, I’m serious!

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

House Speaker Joe Straus is ready to have a “serious” legislative session. You know, totally unlike the last one. Despite organized efforts to unseat him, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said Wednesday he is confident his colleagues will re-elect him … Continue reading →

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Perry’s abortion obsession

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose the only surprise to this is that it’s taken him this long. Proclaiming his ultimate goal to eliminate abortion at any stage, Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday said he would back legislation to ban abortion in Texas after … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood files another lawsuit

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Keeping the heat on the state. As a tumultuous year in women’s health draws to a close, Planned Parenthood is turning up the heat on Texas, today filing a new lawsuit that challenge the state’s move to ban the nonprofit … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick wants to play doctor

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Clearly, the man missed his calling. Before Texas’ abortion sonogram law passed last legislative session, some women seeking to end pregnancies in rural communities relied on telemedicine, with physicians — working in partnership with medical technicians or nurses — administering … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood gains a stay in state lawsuit

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re confused by where the Women’s Health Program stands in Texas, I don’t blame you. Planned Parenthood will continue participating in the Women’s Health Program — for now. Travis County District Judge Stephen Yelenosky on Thursday approved a temporary … Continue reading →

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News flash: Birth control prevents unwanted pregnancies

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. Free birth control led to dramatically lower rates of abortions and teen births, a large study concludes. The findings were eagerly anticipated and come as a bitterly contested Obama administration policy is … 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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This is what a government takeover of health care looks like

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s happening right here in Texas. Texas officials express confidence that thousands of low-income women will be able to find new providers should Planned Parenthood be excluded from the state’s Women’s Health Program, but Xelena Gonzalez does not think woman … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit strikes again

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Texas did not act unconstitutionally when it moved to expel Planned Parenthood from a health and contraceptive care program for low-income women. The ruling overturned a preliminary injunction, issued in April by … Continue reading →

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“Collateral damage”

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that war on women going? In the year since deep cuts to family planning funding took effect, the impact has become apparent. An Observer review of state records has found that 146 clinics have lost state funds, clumped mainly … 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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Yvonne Gutierrez: Republican support for women’s health?

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. We all know there is a lot at stake for the 2012 election cycle. All eyes are on Washington but the … Continue reading →

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A trio of trial updates

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Planned Parenthood versus Texas: A ruling affecting health care, including contraception, for some 130,000 low-income Texas women probably won’t come until late this year as Planned Parenthood and the state of Texas plan for mid-October oral arguments in their legal … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit lifts its stay of Planned Parenthood injunction

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Whiplash alert! U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel on Monday granted a preliminary injunction sought by Planned Parenthood in the case, saying the state couldn’t bar the group until the lawsuit is decided. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott quickly sought a stay … Continue reading →

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Texas gets stay of injunction

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And just like that, we’re back where we started. Late last night, a federal appeals court judge granted Texas an emergency stay halting Planned Parenthood’s participation in the Women’s Health Program. Justice Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Injunction granted to Planned Parenthood

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge on Monday stopped Texas from preventing Planned Parenthood from getting state funds through the Women’s Health Program. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin ruled there is sufficient evidence that a law banning Planned Parenthood from … Continue reading →

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The state shows its intent in Planned Parenthood lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas in order to block the “Affiliate Rule” that Rick Perry is using to deny Medicaid funds to their clinics for the Women’s Health Program. In the opening … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry’s vision for women’s health in Texas

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

More talk than action, and the numbers don’t add up. Are we surprised? Texas health officials have delivered a proposal to the federal government that outlines their plans for transitioning the Women’s Health Program from a program primarily supported by … Continue reading →

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The Texas bait and switch

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You almost have to admire the sheer brazenness of it all. Almost. In a fiscal switcheroo, Texas could free up state dollars to fund the embattled Women’s Health Program by seeking federal block grants for other programs, the state’s health … Continue reading →

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And then they went right back to not caring about women

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Such a delightfully cynical little stunt. Thirteen Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation wrote a letter to President Obama protesting the administration’s decision to phase out funding for the Texas Women’s Health Program. The administration took the action after … Continue reading →

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What radicals?

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I was reading this Patricia Kilday Hart column about how nobody outside Texas paid attention to the sonogram bill until the Virginia brouhaha and the Doonesbury series, which is a good albeit frustrating read, when I came across this bit … Continue reading →

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Mockery is the best medicine

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Business Insider comes across the Facebook fun. Women aren’t too happy with Rick Perry’s stance on family planning funding. Today, they let him know the best way they could, with some well-directed Internet snark. Posts asking Perry’s advice about everything … Continue reading →

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Abbott files suit over WHP

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Say what? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is filing yet another lawsuit against the federal government, this one, no surprise, over the Women’s Health Program. Federal health officials announced Thursday what state leaders had predicted for weeks: that they are … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, WHP

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Rick! Federal health officials announced Thursday what state leaders have predicted for weeks: that they are halting funding for Texas’ Women’s Health Program. Cindy Mann, director of the federal Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, said Texas left her … Continue reading →

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Trying to find a way with the WHP

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I admire and applaud the effort. I abhor the fact that it was needed. Leading Houston Democrats in favor of a seemingly doomed health care program for low-income women are pushing to bypass the state to keep federal money flowing … Continue reading →

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Perry’s empty promise on the Women’s Health Program

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Our Governor talks big, but his words have no meaning. The state will find the cash to continue a women’s health program whose federal funding is threatened because of a decision to keep Planned Parenthood from participating, Gov. Rick Perry … Continue reading →

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It’s time to go on the offensive for women’s health

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I believe that just as Democrats must make the 2012 elections in Texas about public education, they must also make them about health care, in particular access to health care for women. There’s some polling data to suggest this will … Continue reading →

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A place to start

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At least one elected Republican is feeling a bit angsty about the Republican war on women’s health. For some GOP lawmakers, the issue gets deeply personal, and the line between party loyalty, allegiance to anti-abortion politics and public health is … Continue reading →

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Who cares about women, anyway?

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas certainly doesn’t. If there was any hope that the state was seeking a compromise with the federal government over Texas’ Women’s Health Program, it’s fading fast. At the direction of lawmakers and Texas Attorney General Greg … Continue reading →

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Not really buying it, Komen

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So Komen has supposedly reversed itself on Planned Parenthood. I’ve read their statement, as well as TBogg’s improved version of it, and I don’t see a “reversal” so much as I see a bunch of weasel words that may very … Continue reading →

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Komen outrage

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m speechless. In a shocking move Tuesday afternoon, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the country’s most famous breast cancer charity, pulled its grants for breast-cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood. Komen claims that their reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation … Continue reading →

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On free speech and reproductive rights

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I must say, I was a bit flummoxed by this story. The City of Austin might repeal a 2-year-old ordinance requiring some facilities that counsel women with unplanned pregnancies to post signs saying they don’t offer abortions or contraceptive services. … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit tosses injunction against sonogram law

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. A panel of federal appellate judges has authorized Texas officials to enforce a controversial abortion sonogram law while its constitutionality is being challenged in court. In an opinion, the judges said the measure’s opponents “failed to demonstrate constitutional flaws” … Continue reading →

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Sonogram lawsuit appeal

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state’s appeal of the injunction granted against the awful sonogram law was heard in court, but there’s no indication yet when the court will issue a ruling. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t … Continue reading →

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