News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State Abortion Restrictions May Prompt More Women To Visit Their Doctors Instead

Pressmaster
/
Shutterstock
Doctors performed less than one percent of abortions in Texas in 2012.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: with abortion clinics closing, women may turn to their physicians; Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. will visit Dallas today to discuss Ebola; Willie Nelson’s braids fetch $37,000 at auction; and more.

With the new abortion restrictions in place in Texas, some women might turn to their doctors to perform abortions. The new restrictions have closed all but seven clinics in the state. The Texas Tribune reports physicians’ offices don’t have to get abortion licenses if they perform less than 50 abortion procedures a year, which would exempt them from the state’s abortion restrictions, known as House Bill 2.

Some OBGYNs, like Dr. Raymond Moss Hampton in Odessa, say the reduction in abortion clinics may lead to doctors who perform the procedure to misreport them as miscarriages. “History is going to repeat itself in my mind," he said. "They tried to prohibit alcohol, and that just led to an underground industry. The same thing is going to happen with abortion.” 

However, Emily Horne, a lobbyist for Texas Right to Life, said she did not expect the number of abortions performed in physicians' offices to increase. “A lot of the same safety provisions that the doctor is subject to are still in place,” she said. "I don’t think it’s as substantial of a loophole as it might seem.”

  • Dallas County saw a spike in domestic violence deaths last year. A new study by The Texas Council on Family Violence found that the county tied with Houston-area Harris County for the highest number of women killed by domestic violence – 20 women in 2013. The Dallas Morning News reports nine women have been killed by domestic violence in 2014.  

  • Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. will visit Dallas community leaders today to discuss Ebola. CBS 11 reports Jackson wants to make sure south Dallas residents receive the proper information on Ebola. He also hopes to meet with family members of Ebola patient Thomas Duncan, as well as his doctors at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

  • Willie Nelson’s braids were auctioned off for $37,000. The auction was part of an event called “Remembering Waylon,” for outlaw country singer Waylon Jennings, who died in 2002. In 1983, Nelson chopped off his braids to support Jennings, a good friend, during his sobriety and presented them to him at a party thrown by Johnny Cash. [The Associated Press/The Dallas Morning News]

  • A new exhibition will open today at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas. The exhibit, called "Mysteries, Signs and Wonders," features contemporary paintings by Texas artist Barbara Hines. The paintings will focus on religious mysticism and "the beauty of Israel," and some works at the show will be available for sale. Proceeds will go to the museum and the Chabad of Dallas.  
Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.