Texas
State Senate OKs effort to clarify medical exceptions under abortion ban
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate approved changes Tuesday to the state’s strict abortion ban that both Republicans and Democrats say would clarify medical exceptions and has drawn support from women who were told they could not end their pregnancies despite life-threatening complications.
The unanimous passage of the bill in the GOP-controlled Senate — by a 31-0 vote — marked a rare moment of bipartisanship on an issue that for years has roiled the state Capitol as Texas Republicans have defended one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans and launched criminal investigations into alleged violations.
Under Senate-passed changes, Texas’ ban would specify that doctors are allowed to perform an abortion if a patient is experiencing a “life-threatening” condition capable of causing death, and “not necessarily one actively injuring the patient.” The bill would also require doctors to receive training on the revised law.
If approved by the state House and signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the revisions would mark the first time Texas lawmakers have modified language in the near-total abortion ban since it took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“We know there are cases where moms who should have been treated were denied treatment,” Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes said on the floor of the chamber before the vote, urging lawmakers to adopt changes that make the law “crystal clear.”
Texas’ ban would still have no exception in cases of rape or incest and the law would not spell out specific medical exceptions, which Senate Democrats noted even as they said they would support it and predicted it would save lives.
“I will vote for it, but this policy is no less cruel for being made clear,” Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said.
Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed a similar bill in March that added specific medical exceptions to the state’s ban, which also prohibits all abortions except in medical emergencies. Last year, South Dakota released an instructional video for doctors to clarify the state’s abortion restrictions.
The Texas bill comes following years of the state’s abortion ban successfully navigating court challenges and scrutiny from doctors and abortion rights advocates. The advocates say the state’s laws are too vague when defining what is considered a “life-threatening condition.”
Hughes, who is one of the architects of the state’s stringent abortion ban, said he introduced the bill to “remove any doubt” that doctors can perform an abortion when the mother’s life is at risk.
Texas law currently prohibits all abortions, including in cases of rape or incest, except in instances to save the life of the mother. Physicians can face up to 99 years in prison and be fined up to $100,000 if they perform an illegal abortion.
Several women challenged existing medical exceptions under Texas law as too narrow. They called the new legislation a small step in the right direction and would allow doctors to act more urgently. Kaitlyn Kash, who was denied an abortion after experiencing serious pregnancy complications, said at a news conference this month that she was “cautiously optimistic” about the bill.
The Texas Supreme Court in 2024 said that the state’s abortion laws were not too vague, ruling against several women who were denied an abortion after experiencing serious pregnancy complications. The Texas Medical Board also declined to list specific medical exceptions allowed under the law.
In March, Texas filed criminal charges against a Houston midwife for allegedly providing illegal abortions, and the state is also suing a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas woman.
New Mexico
Judge orders remedial plan to improve public education for Native American students
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state of New Mexico must create a remedial plan to improve K-12 education after falling short of providing an adequate public school education to Native American students and others from low-income households, a judge ruled Tuesday.
The order from state district court Judge Matthew Wilson builds on a landmark 2018 ruling that spurred a multibillion-dollar spending spree on public schools in New Mexico — without yet resolving underlying failures to meet state constitutional obligations to educate an array of at-risk students, including those studying English as a second language and students with disabilities.
“The defendants are ordered to come up with comprehensive remedial plan to address the continuing violation of at-risk students’ constitutional rights,” Wilson said. “A court-ordered plan would provide guidance to the legislature and the executive branches of government, particularly when making difficult budgetary decisions that need to survive political and economic shifts.”
New Mexico historically has been at the bottom of the list when it comes to educational outcomes nationwide. Struggles to address lagging test scores and low graduation rates predated the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers have been pouring public resources into efforts to improve attendance, boost access to broadband internet, shore up school staffing and more amid a windfall in state government income from oil and natural gas production.
Filed more than a decade ago on behalf of students and school districts rooted in Native American and Hispanic communities, the litigation known as the Yazzie- Martinez case identified systemic issues within the state’s education system.
In court filings, the administration of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has acknowledged that there is room for improvement while highlighting a 62% increase in annual K-12 spending by state government since 2016 to $4.2 billion in the 2024, as well as the enactment of “dozens of new at-risk initiatives and legislation.”
Public Education Department spokesperson Janelle Garcia said in a statement that the agency welcomes the ruling and an opportunity “to lead development of a plan providing all New Mexico students an excellent education ... that will lead to resolution of the Martinez-Yazzie lawsuit for students, parents, and families.”
The judge rejected a request to put a state legislative agency on education and accountability at the helm of the remediation plan. He called instead for the state Public Education Department to work with the plaintiffs and commission a plan from an outside consultant or expert.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez in 2023 announced his support for the plaintiffs in efforts to make the state comply with its obligations to students.
The remedial plan could take five years to carry out and possibly resolve litigation.
The governor this month vetoed proposed legislation to expand specialized schools dedicated to Native American language and culture by declining to sign the bill without comment.
State Senate OKs effort to clarify medical exceptions under abortion ban
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate approved changes Tuesday to the state’s strict abortion ban that both Republicans and Democrats say would clarify medical exceptions and has drawn support from women who were told they could not end their pregnancies despite life-threatening complications.
The unanimous passage of the bill in the GOP-controlled Senate — by a 31-0 vote — marked a rare moment of bipartisanship on an issue that for years has roiled the state Capitol as Texas Republicans have defended one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans and launched criminal investigations into alleged violations.
Under Senate-passed changes, Texas’ ban would specify that doctors are allowed to perform an abortion if a patient is experiencing a “life-threatening” condition capable of causing death, and “not necessarily one actively injuring the patient.” The bill would also require doctors to receive training on the revised law.
If approved by the state House and signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the revisions would mark the first time Texas lawmakers have modified language in the near-total abortion ban since it took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“We know there are cases where moms who should have been treated were denied treatment,” Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes said on the floor of the chamber before the vote, urging lawmakers to adopt changes that make the law “crystal clear.”
Texas’ ban would still have no exception in cases of rape or incest and the law would not spell out specific medical exceptions, which Senate Democrats noted even as they said they would support it and predicted it would save lives.
“I will vote for it, but this policy is no less cruel for being made clear,” Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said.
Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed a similar bill in March that added specific medical exceptions to the state’s ban, which also prohibits all abortions except in medical emergencies. Last year, South Dakota released an instructional video for doctors to clarify the state’s abortion restrictions.
The Texas bill comes following years of the state’s abortion ban successfully navigating court challenges and scrutiny from doctors and abortion rights advocates. The advocates say the state’s laws are too vague when defining what is considered a “life-threatening condition.”
Hughes, who is one of the architects of the state’s stringent abortion ban, said he introduced the bill to “remove any doubt” that doctors can perform an abortion when the mother’s life is at risk.
Texas law currently prohibits all abortions, including in cases of rape or incest, except in instances to save the life of the mother. Physicians can face up to 99 years in prison and be fined up to $100,000 if they perform an illegal abortion.
Several women challenged existing medical exceptions under Texas law as too narrow. They called the new legislation a small step in the right direction and would allow doctors to act more urgently. Kaitlyn Kash, who was denied an abortion after experiencing serious pregnancy complications, said at a news conference this month that she was “cautiously optimistic” about the bill.
The Texas Supreme Court in 2024 said that the state’s abortion laws were not too vague, ruling against several women who were denied an abortion after experiencing serious pregnancy complications. The Texas Medical Board also declined to list specific medical exceptions allowed under the law.
In March, Texas filed criminal charges against a Houston midwife for allegedly providing illegal abortions, and the state is also suing a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas woman.
New Mexico
Judge orders remedial plan to improve public education for Native American students
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state of New Mexico must create a remedial plan to improve K-12 education after falling short of providing an adequate public school education to Native American students and others from low-income households, a judge ruled Tuesday.
The order from state district court Judge Matthew Wilson builds on a landmark 2018 ruling that spurred a multibillion-dollar spending spree on public schools in New Mexico — without yet resolving underlying failures to meet state constitutional obligations to educate an array of at-risk students, including those studying English as a second language and students with disabilities.
“The defendants are ordered to come up with comprehensive remedial plan to address the continuing violation of at-risk students’ constitutional rights,” Wilson said. “A court-ordered plan would provide guidance to the legislature and the executive branches of government, particularly when making difficult budgetary decisions that need to survive political and economic shifts.”
New Mexico historically has been at the bottom of the list when it comes to educational outcomes nationwide. Struggles to address lagging test scores and low graduation rates predated the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers have been pouring public resources into efforts to improve attendance, boost access to broadband internet, shore up school staffing and more amid a windfall in state government income from oil and natural gas production.
Filed more than a decade ago on behalf of students and school districts rooted in Native American and Hispanic communities, the litigation known as the Yazzie- Martinez case identified systemic issues within the state’s education system.
In court filings, the administration of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has acknowledged that there is room for improvement while highlighting a 62% increase in annual K-12 spending by state government since 2016 to $4.2 billion in the 2024, as well as the enactment of “dozens of new at-risk initiatives and legislation.”
Public Education Department spokesperson Janelle Garcia said in a statement that the agency welcomes the ruling and an opportunity “to lead development of a plan providing all New Mexico students an excellent education ... that will lead to resolution of the Martinez-Yazzie lawsuit for students, parents, and families.”
The judge rejected a request to put a state legislative agency on education and accountability at the helm of the remediation plan. He called instead for the state Public Education Department to work with the plaintiffs and commission a plan from an outside consultant or expert.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez in 2023 announced his support for the plaintiffs in efforts to make the state comply with its obligations to students.
The remedial plan could take five years to carry out and possibly resolve litigation.
The governor this month vetoed proposed legislation to expand specialized schools dedicated to Native American language and culture by declining to sign the bill without comment.
