reproductive rights

A national analysis of abortions during 2020 and the end of 2023 found an uptick in nearly every state with a near-total abortion ban, excluding Texas, Idaho and Oklahoma, which had the steepest decline.

The group of 111 doctors cited recent ProPublica reporting on two pregnant women who died because doctors did not provide lifesaving care.

Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley calls himself “pro-life.” But the proposal to police the streets for women traveling out of state to get an abortion is overreach, he said.

Federal clinics in Texas are already required to get parental permission to prescribe birth control after a 2022 court ruling.

Also, a new app using trained AI aims to predict risks during pregnancy. Both the report and the app highlight consistent concerns over equitable access to health care.

In most circumstances, it is illegal to perform an abortion in Texas. The solution for many is to travel out of Texas and to a state where abortion is still legal.

The temporary injunction also puts state-mandated counseling and a new abortion pill 'reversal' law on hold.

“These laws have a significant chilling effect,” said Elizabeth Sepper, a University of Texas law professor. “They strike fear into the hearts of people who are trying to leave the state for totally legal and medically appropriated abortions in other states where abortion is available.”

Cochran County commissioners meet Thursday to discuss the ban. Abortion-rights supporters say the bans are unenforceable and meant to stoke fear.

New research estimates Kansas saw one of the most significant increases in abortions in the country, driven by a surge in patients from nearby states.