Texas Senate Readies for Hearing Over Fetal Tissue Sales

Wednesday, the Texas Senate will take the first real step in and investigation of Planned Parenthood ordered by Governor Greg Abbott. The governor, along with virtually every other Republican in the state, is in a tizzy over two videos recently released by the Center for Medical Progress. The videos, recorded…

Check Out This Map of STDs by County

Surely, you guys have wondered about the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in various Texas counties. You haven’t? Well RentApplication.com is here with a interactive map to tell us all about it anyway, titled “These are The Most Sexually Diseased Cities in the USA.” The website provides data on syphilis, gonorrhea…

Abbott Pounces After Another Planned Parenthood Sting Video Appears

Tuesday morning, the dubiously named Center for Medical Progress released the second undercover video stemming from what it claims has been a three-year “undercover” investigation of Planned Parenthood. Like the first video, released a week ago, the new video shows a Planned Parenthood senior executive talking about, depending on your…

Supreme Court Saves Texas Abortion Clinics. For Now.

An emergency stay issued by the U.S. Supreme Court Monday will keep 10 Texas abortion clinics open at least until the court’s fall term. The clinics were set to close following the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in June to uphold a Texas law that requires any health…

Getting an Abortion in Texas Is Now Almost Impossible. Again.

And then there were eight. Tuesday afternoon, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed most of a lower court decision that kept most of the state’s remaining abortion providers open. The ruling makes the most onerous provision of Texas 2013 anti-abortion law, House Bill 2, enforceable. Every health clinic…

Why Does Rep. Matt Schaefer Want Women to Give Birth to Almost-Dead Babies?

When Texas lawmakers banned abortions after 20 weeks in 2013, the ban wasn’t totally devoid of compassion for women. There were a few exceptions to the 20-week ban; for instance, abortions “that are performed on unborn children with severe fetal abnormalities” would still be allowed. For Representative Matt Schaefer, a…

Medical Marijuana Sort of Gets Its Day at the Texas Capitol. Not Really.

A week after a sizable group of veterans descended on the state capitol to demand access to medical marijuana for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions, the Texas House’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday finally held a hearing on a cannabis-based treatment bill. Don’t expect the veterans…

Ted Cruz Almost Got It Right on Vaccines Until He Totally Didn’t

As the vaccine “debate” has gained speed in the aftermath of a measles outbreak centered on Disneyland in California, reaction from the libertarian right has been fascinating. Senator Rand Paul stuttered something about vaccines needing to be voluntary and walked up to the thoroughly debunked “vaccines can cause mental disorders”…