Daily Dispatch 3/19/25: A Third Arrest In Houston Abortion Case, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A third arrest, that of a nurse practitioner, has been reported in the case of Houston-area clinics run by midwife Maria Rojas, who has been accused by Ken Paxton of conducting abortions illegally: https://abc13.com/post/texas-attorney-general-announces-third-arrest-illegal-abortion-case-involving-houston-area-midwife/16044651/

...A patient cited in the affadavit says she was referred to Rojas' clinic by her doctor after it was determined that her pregancy had a low likelihood of success and a high risk of medical complications: https://www.thecut.com/article/texas-abortion-arrest-maria-margarita-rojas-midwife.html

...These arrests are seen as only the beginning of aggressive law enforcement action related to abortion, with patients who leave the state for care likely on the target list: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/03/texas-midwife-first-abortion-prosecution-maria-rojas.html

20 new Texas measles cases reported yesterday bring our state total in the current outbreak to 279 - all but two in unvaccinated people: https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-measles-cases-outbreak-2025-march-18-update

...If the outbreak takes over a year to contain, the United States will lose its status as a nation where measles has been eliminated - a status we've enjoyed for 25 years: https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/18/measles-outbreak-could-last-a-year-texas-public-health-official-predicts/

Texas officials have been documenting the personal data of people who request changes to the sex listed on their state documents - and those who even inquire about it - all while remaining silent on why: https://www.kut.org/politics/2025-03-19/texas-transgender-drivers-license-data-collection

On March 29th, the State Democratic Executive Committee will choose a new chair for the Texas Democratic Party - while you don't get to vote in this very important election, you have a representative on that committee, and you should let them know your preferences: ⁠https://progresstexas.org/blog/most-important-election-you-don%E2%80%99t-know-about⁠

Women's History Month, being observed throughout March across Texas, serves both as a celebration of the history of breakthroughs for women, and a reminder that Texas is the worst state for them: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org/blog/celebrating-women%E2%80%99s-history-month-worst-state-women⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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