Abortion

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.

The women had ectopic pregnancies, which are nonviable and life-threatening if not treated early. They say Ascension Seton Williamson and Texas Health Arlington violated federal law by not ending their pregnancies sooner.

In the high court’s first abortion-related ruling since it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the justices ruled unanimously to change nothing about mifepristone’s legal status.

Last week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against a group of women seeking clarifications on the state’s prohibition on abortions. Texas Public Radio’s Kayla Padilla reports that Catholics for Choice denounces this ruling. And TPR's Pablo De La Rosa has more on the World Health Organization confirming the first fatal case of bird flu in Mexico.

Lubbock’s May 4 general election saw the District 2 city council and mayoral races go into runoffs. Early voting for the runoff is June 3 through June 11, election day is June 15. And the Texas Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a petition by a group of women. As KUT’s Olivia Aldridge reports, they were asking the state to clarify the medical exception to its abortion laws.

The court ruled against 20 women who said they were denied medically necessary abortions, saying the medical exceptions in the law were broad enough.

Less than a year after rejecting a student housing development near Lubbock’s historic South Overton neighborhood, the city council advanced a zone change behind a similar apartment project. And after a lengthy, emotional discussion in the Amarillo community, Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports city officials continue to consider an ordinance that would outlaw the use of local streets to access a legal abortion.

Despite the conservative victory over abortion rights, many GOP delegates continue to call for tougher state abortion laws.

The Texas Department of Transportation is accepting public comment on the Rural Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) for the years 2025 through 2028. The virtual meeting posted by TxDot will cover proposed projects for Lubbock and neighboring counties. And KERA's Bekah Morr reports on new data from the Society of Family Planning about telehealth abortion care in states which have restricted the procedure.You can watch the Lubbock TIP meeting here. And public comment can be sent via mail to TxDOT Lubbock District at 135 Slaton Hwy, Lubbock, TX 79404-5201or via email to LBB_projects@txdot.gov with the subject line FY 2025-2028 Rural TIP Comment.

Our reporter Brad Burt has an update on efforts to bring an abortion travel ban to Amarillo city council. And Texas Public Radio's Pablo De La Rosa has more on conversations between President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador cracking down on irregular migration at the U.S.-Mexico border.