health

The state’s poorest mothers are paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket when they find baby formula because they say they can’t risk waiting for the exact brand and size container covered by Texas’ Women, Infant and Children program.

More than a quarter of women of childbearing age are uninsured in Texas, the highest rate in the nation, and the state has chosen to cap Medicaid benefits for new moms earlier than other states.

Politico said it obtained a draft Supreme Court majority opinion indicating the landmark abortion ruling will be overturned. Abortion is still legal in Texas up to six weeks of pregnancy.

In 2020, Texas had an estimated 65,000 victims of child abuse, and the two cities with the highest rates in the state - Abilene and Lubbock - are in West Texas.

The full and often unchecked power of the prosecutor was on display when a South Texas woman was charged with murder for a self-induced abortion.

Lizelle Herrera, 26, was released from custody Saturday night on $500,000 bond. Then, on Sunday, the DA said the Starr County Sheriff's Department "did their duty in investigating the incident brought to their attention by the reporting hospital." However, he said that this is not a criminal matter under Texas law.

As Texas continues to face a shortage of nurses from the COVID-19 pandemic, an NPR analysis shows new nurses have had to wait extended periods of times due to delays by the state Board of Nursing.

Legal scholars, abortion providers and anti-abortion groups alike expect Texas' abortion law will stay in effect for the foreseeable future.

Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children and a recent study investigated the geographic disparities in hospitalizations related to the illness in Lubbock County. The study explores the role that race and ethnicity, health insurance and other environmental factors play in these disparities. Texas Tech Public Media sat down with one of the researchers, Dr. Duke Appiah, who worked on this investigation.