SB 8

In March 2023, five women and two doctors sued the state of Texas over its abortion bans, saying they were putting patients at risk. Eight additional plaintiffs have joined the lawsuit as of May 22.

More women sue Texas saying the state's anti-abortion laws harmed them

4:53pm May 22, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

More women who say they were put in danger by Texas' abortion bans are joining a lawsuit that seek to force the state to clarify medical exceptions in the laws.

Jonathan Mitchell, pictured on April 27 inside the statehouse in Austin, Texas, is credited with devising the legal strategy behind the near-total abortion ban in Texas known as S.B. 8.

He helped craft the 'bounty hunter' abortion law in Texas. He's just getting started

9:26am May 08, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

The attorney Jonathan Mitchell is known for leveraging the law to achieve his conservative clients' goals — regardless of the potential political fallout.

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Samantha Casiano and Luis Villasana and had a baby last week who died shortly after birth. The fatal condition was diagnosed at 20 weeks of pregnancy. When Casiano asked her OB-GYN what her options were, she was told, "You don't have any options. You have to go on with your pregnancy."

Health & Safety

A Good Friday funeral in Texas. Baby Halo's parents had few choices in post-Roe Texas

5:09pm April 06, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

When she gave birth to her baby with a fatal condition two months early, Samantha Casiano scrambled to raise funds for the funeral. Anti-abortion advocates say Texas laws are "working as designed."

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, speaks near the Texas Capitol in Austin during an event to announce that her group is suing the state on behalf of five women and two doctors.

5 Texas women denied abortions sue the state, saying the bans put them in danger

4:34pm March 07, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

The lawsuit filed on behalf of five patients who said their lives were put at risk and two physicians asks a state judge to clarify exceptions for medical emergencies under Texas law.

Protesters hold signs as they march in opposition to the anti-abortion law S.B. 8 outside the Texas state capitol on May 29, 2021 in Austin.

Poll: One year after SB 8, Texans express strong support for abortion rights

4:45pm September 01, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

One year after a restrictive abortion law took effect, a poll shows a majority of Texans surveyed say they support abortion access in most or all cases. Many say the issue will motivate them to vote.

Legal experts say so-called bounty hunter bills, including the Missouri measure that would let people sue anyone they suspect of helping a resident get an abortion in another state, are most certainly unconstitutional, with little chance of withstanding l

Can states limit abortion and gender-affirming treatments outside their borders?

3:01pm March 15, 2022

by Vanessa Romo

Building on SB 8 in Texas, some Republican lawmakers are trying a new strategy: pushing bills that would attempt to limit what residents can and can't do even beyond state lines.

Abortion rights supporters protest in Austin, Texas, in October. Doctors say their worst fears about the Texas abortion law are coming true.

Doctors' worst fears about the Texas abortion law are coming true

7:36am March 01, 2022

It's been six months since Texas passed a law banning almost all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Doctors and patients are feeling frustrated as they navigate the new legal environment.

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Protesters take part in the Women's March and Rally for Abortion Justice at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.

A U.S. judge blocks enforcement of Texas' controversial new abortion law

10:50pm October 06, 2021

by Ryan Lucas

Known as SB 8, the law bans almost all abortions in the state after about six weeks of pregnancy, even in cases of rape, sexual abuse and incest.

Abortion-rights supporters march outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on Sept. 1.

Texas' abortion law is back in court

5:00pm October 01, 2021

A federal judge will decide whether to block Texas' new restrictive abortion law after hearing from Justice Department attorneys and lawyers for the state. He offered no timetable for a decision.

Abortion rights activists rally at the Texas State Capitol on Sept. 11, 2021 in Austin.

A Texas Doctor Says He Defied The Abortion Law, Risking Lawsuits

5:24pm September 19, 2021

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

Dr. Alan Braid said that his decision to perform an abortion past the six-week mark earlier this month was a matter of duty.