It's my first day at @texasobserver.org and a good time to remind that if you're not a member, join now to subscribe to the magazine! In an increasingly concentrated + corporate media landscape, it's more important than ever to support independent journalism! texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/join/

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Mary Tuma@marytuma.bsky.social · last mo.

I am so incredibly proud and excited to join the @texasobserver.org staff! I have long admired and respected the Observer and its journalistic values. And it's an absolute honor to work alongside some of the most talented reporters in this state! Email tips, etc. here: tuma@texasobserver.org

The analysis found that "310 more patients in Texas experienced substantial blood loss after an ectopic pregnancy in 2023 and 2024 compared with 2018 and 2019, an increase of about 29%."

ProPublica@propublica.org · 3w ago

NEW: Our analysis found that from 2020 to 2025, the rate of deaths involving ectopic pregnancies nearly doubled compared with the previous six-year period. The uptick was steeper in states with abortion bans.

The TX Department of State Health Services has pushed the deadline for the latest MMRC report from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1 – until after the midterm elections and just a month before the legislative session, giving even more reason for advocates and lawmakers to suspect political influence. Bkgrd here:

Mary Tuma@marytuma.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Texas committee tasked with reviewing maternal deaths has decided to forgo analyzing the two years following the demise of Roe v Wade. Health care advocates and lawmakers believe politics played a role, at least tacitly. My latest for @texasobserver.org: www.texasobserver.org/maternal-mor...

I am so incredibly proud and excited to join the @texasobserver.org staff! I have long admired and respected the Observer and its journalistic values. And it's an absolute honor to work alongside some of the most talented reporters in this state! Email tips, etc. here: tuma@texasobserver.org

Gus Bova@gusbova.bsky.social · last mo.

(2/3) I'm proud to announce that @marytuma.bsky.social will be starting as an Observer staff writer late next month covering reproductive rights and politics. Mary is a longtime contributor and a leading reporter on Texas repro rights: www.texasobserver.org/author/mary-...

The Texas committee tasked with reviewing maternal deaths has decided to forgo analyzing the two years following the demise of Roe v Wade. Health care advocates and lawmakers believe politics played a role, at least tacitly. My latest for @texasobserver.org: www.texasobserver.org/maternal-mor...

Texas Maternal Mortality Committee's Next Report Will Skip Post-'Roe' Deaths. Lawmakers Suspect Political Influence.

And one Texan says the body’s decision “retriggered” the pain of losing his wife, who counts among the preventable deaths that soon followed the state’s abortion bans.

texasobserver.org

A Texas appeals court ruled the state did not provide any evidence that Houston midwife Maria Rojas violated the TX abortion ban. While a win, her low-cost clinics will likely not reopen. Bkgd @texasobserver.org: www.texasobserver.org/ken-paxton-p... Ruling: reproductiverights.org/wp-content/u...

Ken Paxton’s ‘Shoddy’ Prosecution of a Midwife Is Part of a Strategy to Expand His Power. Low-Income Houstonians Are Paying the Price.

Maria Margarita Rojas is the first healthcare provider charged for abortion care under Texas’ strict criminal ban. Her attorneys say the state has no evidence—yet her clinics remain shuttered.

texasobserver.org

As an actual Texas abortion rights reporter (and lifelong Texan) I assure you this take is severely flawed. Not only does it underestimate the popularity of abortion rights, it reinforces the centrist fallacy of acquiescing to Republicans to gain power –– reality shows "compromises" do not work.

New York Times Opinion@nytopinion.nytimes.com · 4mo ago

“Texas Democrats’ failure to calibrate on abortion serves as a microcosm for what’s happened to abortion politics in the party writ large,” the journalist Zaid Jilani writes.

NEW: The case of a Texas woman who accused a Marine of slipping abortion pills into her hot chocolate gets even weirder. The Marine countersued in September, saying she made it all up. Now, his lawyers say she's been withholding evidence—including scads of texts and a second phone @autonomynews.co

Woman Accused of Fabricating Abortion Pill 'Coercion' Story Allegedly Hid Text Messages, Second Phone

In one message, the woman wrote of “making connections with powerful pro-life entities” to “take [her ex] down.”

autonomynews.co

(1/2) A reminder that when it comes to abortion rights, Ken Paxton: -led multiple lawsuits against out of state providers -tried to throw a midwife in jail for life -threatened docs w/ felonies if they helped a TX woman w/ emergency abortion care -legally attacked abortion funds + supporters

At least 4,200 people in Texas were still able to access abortion care through telehealth this June. Nationally, telehealth w/ pills accounts for 27% abortions across the U.S., according to @societyfp.bsky.social

Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social · 5mo ago

BREAKING: The Supreme Court HALTS the 5th Circuit's decision blocking telemedicine mifepristone nationwide. Alito and Thomas dissent. Thomas suggests that mailing abortion pills violates the Comstock Act. www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

BREAKING (again, sorry) the order is in: The Fifth Circuit's ruling is again blocked. Mifepristone remains available via telehealth. Alito and Thomas dissent. Thomas' dissent mentions the Comstock Act, the 1873 anti vice law conservatives want to use to ban mailing abortion pills.

Garnet Henderson@garnethenderson.com · 5mo ago

BREAKING: It’s now past 5pm ET and no word from the Supreme Court. This means the 5th Circuit’s ruling restricting telehealth prescriptions of mifepristone is now in effect. However the Supreme Court could act and change this at any time.

BREAKING: It’s now past 5pm ET and no word from the Supreme Court. This means the 5th Circuit’s ruling restricting telehealth prescriptions of mifepristone is now in effect. However the Supreme Court could act and change this at any time.

If this extension of the stay feels familiar, it might be because the same thing happened during the 2023 case challenging nationwide access to mifepristone. Alito extended it for two days before the court upheld the status quo and maintained access. Here’s a refresher on the current case:

Unpacking the fight over telehealth access to abortion medication • Stateline

Advocates and opponents of abortion access say they’re wondering what happens next in a critical telehealth medication case that created chaos and confusion over the past week after an appeals court b...

stateline.org

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito—author of the decision overturning Roe v. Wade—has paused a move by the 5th Circuit to cut off abortion pills by mail. My update on a case that puts abortion back on the SCOTUS docket in a midterm year: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Supreme Court reinstates access to abortion pills—for now

Justice Samuel Alito, author of the Dobbs decision, tells the Fifth Circuit to slow down.

motherjones.com

“Who would have the gall to file a lawsuit over someone’s decision like that and splash it all over the papers, except for someone who intends to further abuse?,” said Marc Hearron, senior counsel w/ @reprorights.org

Mother Jones@motherjones.com · 5mo ago

Anti-abortion extremists in Texas are using the courts to take aim at abortion pills. But they keep relying on plaintiffs who turn out to be controlling, manipulative, and abusive.

Abortion opponents keep neglecting to vet the plaintiffs behind their abortion-pill lawsuits. And the cases keep blowing up in their faces.

The messy plaintiffs behind so many anti-abortion lawsuits

Allegations of domestic violence have turned yet another abortion-pill case into "a PR disaster."

motherjones.com

For @motherjones.com: I take a look at the many anti-abortion Texas-based lawsuits that target abortion pills and why they keep relying on plaintiffs later revealed to be problematic and "abusive." “These cases range from messy to downright wild,” says law professor @maryrziegler.bsky.social

The messy plaintiffs behind so many anti-abortion lawsuits

Allegations of domestic violence have turned yet another abortion-pill case into "a PR disaster."

motherjones.com

So incredibly proud of my dear friend @jazmineulloa.bsky.social's ambitious and beautifully woven new book that traces the complex and rich history of El Paso through the lives of five families, elevating the border city to its "rightful position" at the center of our American story. An excerpt here

Texas Observer@texasobserver.org · 7mo ago

New in books from @jazmineulloa.bsky.social: On August 3, 2019, I was nearly 2,000 miles away in Washington, D.C., where I worked as a national political reporter in the bureau of The Boston Globe. It was a Saturday, and I was in a movie theater when my phone lit up with calls and messages.

NEW: TX AG Paxton sues international abortion pill provider Aid Access for allegedly shipping medication to Texans. This comes after a similar suit against a Delaware-based provider. These suits go up against shield laws + now, international law Filing www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/defaul...

New from @marytuma.bsky.social: “There’s an almost shocking lack of evidence around these #abortion care accusations. What you’re seeing is an attorney general grasping at straws and rushing to indict anyone during an election year.”

Ken Paxton’s ‘Shoddy’ Prosecution of a Midwife Is Part of a Strategy to Expand His Power. Low-Income Houstonians Are Paying the Price.

Maria Margarita Rojas is the first healthcare provider charged for abortion care under Texas’ strict criminal ban. Her attorneys say the state has no evidence—yet her clinics remain shuttered.

texasobserver.org

Attorney General Paxton wants to imprison midwife Maria Rojas –– a Latina from Peru who was serving the Spanish-speaking community –– for life based on a "baseless" case. I report that the lead investigator has made several pro-MAGA social media posts that include strong anti-immigrant sentiments:

Ken Paxton’s ‘Shoddy’ Prosecution of a Midwife Is Part of a Strategy to Expand His Power. Low-Income Houstonians Are Paying the Price.

Maria Margarita Rojas is the first healthcare provider charged for abortion care under Texas’ strict criminal ban. Her attorneys say the state has no evidence—yet her clinics remain shuttered.

texasobserver.org

My latest for @texasobserver.org: Maria Margarita Rojas is the first healthcare provider charged for abortion care under Texas’ strict criminal ban. Her attorneys say the state has no evidence—yet her clinics remain shuttered.

Ken Paxton’s ‘Shoddy’ Prosecution of a Midwife Is Part of a Strategy to Expand His Power. Low-Income Houstonians Are Paying the Price.

Maria Margarita Rojas is the first healthcare provider charged for abortion care under Texas’ strict criminal ban. Her attorneys say the state has no evidence—yet her clinics remain shuttered.

texasobserver.org

BREAKING: Texas AG Ken Paxton is suing abortion pill provider Debra Lynch, founder of Delaware-based Her Safe Harbor for violating Texas abortion law. I talked to Debra in Sept. and she said she would keep providing care to Texans despite HB 7. Suit: www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/defaul...

When I write that Texas right-wing officials are "insatiable" in their crusade to decimate abortion care, it's not hyperbole. This second attempt by TX is in addition to: ->A full criminal ban since 2022 + near-total ban since 2021 ->A new bounty-hunter vigilante.... www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Texas, Florida mount latest legal challenge to FDA abortion pill approval

Texas and Florida have launched the latest lawsuit seeking to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of a new generic vers...

reuters.com

I spoke with two out-of-state abortion pill providers who tell me a new aggressive Texas law, set to take effect Dec. 4, will not deter them from offering care: “We will not halt shipments to Texas. We refuse to comply with cruelty disguised as law,” says Debra Lynch of @hersafeharbor.bsky.social

Mary Tuma@marytuma.bsky.social · 10mo ago

On Thurs., Dec. 4 a new Texas anti-abortion law takes effect. HB 7 aims to halt access to medication abortion by empowering people to sue anyone who mails, prescribes, or provides abortion-inducing pills to the state and reap a minimum of $100K in court. Background: www.thenation.com/article/soci...

On Thurs., Dec. 4 a new Texas anti-abortion law takes effect. HB 7 aims to halt access to medication abortion by empowering people to sue anyone who mails, prescribes, or provides abortion-inducing pills to the state and reap a minimum of $100K in court. Background: www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Texas Extremists Are Trying Everything to Block Abortion Medication

Texas officials and activists are ramping up the fight against abortion pill access. But providers are standing firm.

thenation.com

"During Walker’s many hospital and prenatal visits, 21 OB-GYNs were among the more than 90 physicians involved in her care. None of them counseled her on the option — or the health benefits — of a termination, according to medical records."

Caitlin Kelly@caitlinkelly.bsky.social · 11mo ago

NEW: In 2024, Tierra Walker was sick and getting sicker. She was also pregnant. She knew abortion was illegal in Texas, but thought there was an exception for women like her, whose health was at risk. Doctors told her there was no emergency. Then she died. www.propublica.org/article/texa...

Texans under 18 faced more barriers to accessing abortion care in clinics than any other age group in the months following the 2021 near-total abortion ban, according to a new study in @amjpublichealth.bsky.social Caveat: this study does not include SMA ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/...

Changes in Facility-Based Abortion Care Among Texas Resident Minors and Young Adults After a 2021 Abortion Ban: September 2020–May 2022 | AJPH | Vol. Issue

Objectives. To compare changes in the number of facility-based abortions among Texas residents in different age groups following the state’s 2021 law prohibiting abortion after detection of embryonic ...

ajph.aphapublications.org

A federal judge in Texas who spent the past three years trying to help conservative groups overturn the FDA's regulation of the abortion drug mifepristone has bowed out of the case.

Fiercely anti-abortion judge has bowed out of blockbuster mifepristone case

But the threat isn't over.

motherjones.com

"We refuse to comply with cruelty disguised as law,” says Debra Lynch, founder of Her Safe Harbor, a Delaware-based abortion telehealth provider. "HB 7 is an intimidation tactic, not a reflection of the reality of people’s needs."

Texas Extremists Are Trying Everything to Block Abortion Medication

Texas officials and activists are ramping up the fight against abortion pill access. But providers are standing firm.

thenation.com