In the on-again, off-again state funding battle for the women's health organization, Planned Parenthood, three appellate judges in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Texas must continue to include the provider in Texas' Medicaid program. more ›

Less than 24 hours after a district judge in Austin stopped a Texas law that bans all state funding of Planned Parenthood, a federal appellate court judge granted Texas an emergency stay lifting the Austin court's order. more ›

After deliberately violating Medicaid rules in an effort to oust Planned Parenthood from the state's Women's Health Program (which set off a flurry of proposals and lawsuits), Texas lawmakers are moving along with their battle against abortion. This time around, as reported by The Texas Observer, Republican Rep. Bill Zedler is dancing the fine line between legality and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy violation by seeking to require extremely detailed information about abortion patients and abortion providers. more ›

After yesterday's post regarding Planned Parenthood's refusal to accept a donation from Tucker Max, it came to our attention that the donation attempt took place last August. Since the timing seemed a bit strange, we constructed a general timeline to illustrate the facts. more ›

The recent outcry over Texas women's access to healthcare is preceded by a long, sad history of de-prioritization and ignorance. Sadly, last week's news regarding the complete halt of federal funding for women's health programs in Texas was over-shadowed by SXSW, the ongoing race for the GOP candidate and a handful of other big noise news items. So what exactly happened? more ›

Susan G. Komen for the Cure argues that the reason for cutting ties with Planned Parenthood is in response to a new rule that does not allow them to provide grants to associations under investigation... If this is true, then when will Komen part ways with Bank of America? more ›

For many folks, one of Rick Perry's greatest successes as governor was attempting to create mandatory HPV vaccinations for school-aged girls. 'Cancer's the worst!' the action seemed to shout. And, because most people agree, everyone nodded and Texas was on its way to eradicating some forms of cervical cancer and everything was great. But then some people claimed that mandating HPV vaccines was unconstitutional or anti-American or whatever and Perry conceded and decided to take the mandatory HPV thing off the table until something constitutional and fully American or whatever could be figured out. more ›

Ah, Texas.  Biggest and best in everything, right?  And with the passage of Senate Bill 7, an omnibus health care spending bill festooned with controversial amendments, Texas potentially achieves another "biggest":  we are now the biggest state to attempt defunding Planned Parenthood.  Which, depending on how you look at it, is either sucky for women, or great for fetuses. more ›

Capital Area Rural Transportation System (CARTS) recently dished out $21K in a court settlement with a former employee who refused to take two women to a Planned Parenthood on his assigned bus route. Edwin Graning, an ordained minister who is “strongly opposed to abortion,” claimed that CARTS used religious discrimination when firing him. more ›

In case you've missed it, there's a comedy revolution brewing in New York right now. Comics like Todd Barry, Demitri Martin, and Aziz Ansari have been drawing huge audiences of hipsters and regular folk alike with satire that owes far more to the silliness and irony of Steve Martin and Eddie Izzard than to the lowbrow Comedy Central/Def Comedy Jam nonsense that's infested comedy clubs for a decade. Among the brightest lights of the... more ›

Texans are a scrappy lot, even if they come from pampered Bush stock. Once they get it into their heads to, say, abolish a woman’s right to choose, it is hard to stop them. But Planned Parenthood found their own Lone Star hero in Cecile Richards, daughter of former governor Ann Richards and the incoming PPFA president. more ›

This Tuesday, the Texas House will vote on HB 1212 (written by Rep. Phil King). Texas currently has a law in place a law which requires parental notification but HB 1212 will require parental consent for teens seeking an abortion. Austinist wonders what this means for victims of incest who become pregnant as a result. more ›

You can send Rep. Jodie Laubenberg(R-Parker), the Vice-Chair of the House Public Health Committee an e-mail, opposing this bill by clicking here. Additionally, to see other bills of this nature, and what they each entail, you can go to the Planned Parenthood Austin website. more ›