Years before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling overturning Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, The Texas Tribune has been covering reproductive rights and abortion access as a signature issue.
In the largest state where abortion is now almost totally banned, the Tribune has covered this most divisive of issues from every angle — bioethical, legal, medical, political, religious and scientific. We’ve done so in a state with the nation’s highest rate of uninsured residents, high rates of childbirth-related deaths (particularly for Black women), a weak social safety net and little support for working parents of young children.
The court’s decision came a month after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Even as we were consumed with coverage of that tragedy, we knew we needed to also provide authoritative and useful reporting on the end of abortion in Texas — for Texas readers.
Friday, June 24
5 a.m. — We publish a story by women’s health reporter Eleanor Klibanoff highlighting how a ban on abortion could trap domestic violence victims in abusive relationships.
9:02 a.m. — Tribune photo editors start contacting photographers in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, McAllen, Dallas and Washington, D.C., to cover likely protests over the decision.
9:10 a.m. — The U.S. Supreme Court posts its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on its website, overturning Roe v. Wade.
9:14 a.m. — We publish our first story, authored by Klibanoff, about the ruling. The story is initially about 1,000 words and explains that Roe v. Wade has been overturned and that Texas has a “trigger law” in effect that will ban abortion — with no exceptions for rape and incest — 30 days after the ruling. The headline: “U.S. Supreme Court rules there’s no right to abortion, setting up Texas ban.” The story would be updated over the next few hours as developments occurred.
9:18 a.m. — Our breaking news alert lands in readers’ inboxes:
9:20 a.m. — We publish a second story, also by Klibanoff, on the ruling and its impact, highlighting the distance that people will have to travel to obtain a legal abortion. The story features two maps and a graph. The headline is, “With the end of Roe, Texans will have to travel long distances for legal abortions.”
9:26 a.m. — As traffic to our website surged, we put together a roundup of coverage: data stories on the number of abortions in Texas in recent years, background on how Texas’ “heartbeat bill” had already severely limited access to abortion, indications from big-city district attorneys that they wouldn’t prosecute abortion cases, reporting on travel across the Texas-Mexico border to obtain abortion drugs, the impacts on maternal health care and the outsize role of Texas activists during the decadeslong fight to overturn Roe.
9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. — We mobilize reporters in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston to talk to ordinary Texans in the immediate aftermath.
9:44 a.m. — The Tribune’s homepage:
9:48 a.m. — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declares abortion illegal in the state. He cites Texas’ pre-Roe statues, which ban the procedure and remained on the books but were unenforceable for nearly 50 years. We report this news on social media and in multiple stories.
10:28 a.m. — We publish a story by Klibanoff and climate reporter Erin Douglas on what’s happening in abortion clinics around the state. It notes that some clinics have ceased providing abortions in the aftermath of the ruling, even though they say they aren’t certain that the state’s pre-Roe statues are still enforceable.
10:30 a.m. — With her fourth story of the day published, Klibanoff departs Austin by car to San Antonio to report on the scene inside a clinic. She pulls her car over multiple times during the typically 90-minute trip to call sources and pass on information to her editors.
10:43 a.m. — We publish a fifth story, authored by political reporter Patrick Svitek, which describes the reaction of state officials around Texas.
12:30 p.m. — After our audience team noticed widespread confusion on social media about whether contraceptives like Plan B were still legal and available, we write a sixth story of the day related to the court’s ruling: an explainer detailing how accessibility of contraceptives is not affected by the ruling by a reporting fellow from Northwestern University, Megan Munce.
1:15 p.m. — After confirming with Whole Woman’s Health, Planned Parenthood and independent clinics that they have halted abortions in Texas, we are the first news outlet to definitively report that all Texas clinics stopped doing legal abortions, even as the trigger law has not gone into effect. This becomes the headline in our clinics story, and we share the news on Twitter.
We also publish an email alert on the detail:
3:01 p.m. — We publish our seventh story of the day, detailing how the ruling will lead to inequality in abortion access: Wealthy people with paid time off, money to purchase airline tickets and access to child care will be able to leave the state for an abortion; people without money won’t. The story is written by health and human services reporter Karen Brooks Harper.
3:20 p.m. — We send out a “top story” email alert promoting the inequality story:
4:22 p.m. — We publish our eighth story of the day, which zeroes in on the celebration of anti-abortion activists who spent decades working toward the moment. It was penned by four reporters, each in a different city.
4:45 p.m. — Our homepage:
5:34 p.m. — Our ninth story of the day, written by political reporter James Barragán, highlights how Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion seemed to suggest an openness to overturning decisions that guaranteed access to same-sex marriage and contraceptives.
7:31 p.m. — Our tenth story of the day, by Munce, aims to combat confusion and misinformation online by answering readers’ questions.
10:45 p.m. — Our final story of the day describes protests and rallies that erupted across the state — some of the largest demonstrations in Texas since the unrest that followed George Floyd’s murder in 2020. It featured reporting and photography from San Antonio, Austin and Dallas.
Saturday, June 25
5 a.m. — We publish two stories:
- A story reported from San Antonio by Klibanoff about the fear, confusion and chaos in an abortion clinic after the ruling.
- A story by criminal justice reporter Jolie McCullough about how New Mexico, the only bordering state where abortion would remain legal, is preparing for an influx of Texans traveling to the state to obtain an abortion. Several of McCullough’s stories are run on the front pages of New Mexico newspapers.
6:14 a.m. — We send our weekly news roundup email with the subject line “Texas is now in a post-Roe world.”
11:56 a.m. — We send a “top story” email alert promoting the story from inside a San Antonio abortion clinic:
5 p.m. — We publish a story by Klibanoff detailing how local jurisdictions are discussing ordinances to decriminalize abortion — but that those efforts are unlikely to keep clinics open.
Sunday, June 26
10 p.m. — Beto O’Rourke vows to repeal Texas abortion ban if elected governor
Monday, June 27
5 a.m. — We publish two abortion stories:
- The U.S. Supreme Court gave Texas abortion clinics a victory in 2016. Then Trump was elected. by Klibanoff
- With little short-term hope, Texas’ abortion-rights movement sets its sights on the long run by night general assignment reporter William Melhado
6:15 a.m. — Our daily news roundup email hits inboxes: “The Brief: What the end of Roe v. Wade means for Texans.”
2:44 p.m. — A group of abortion clinics files a lawsuit in a last-ditch effort to resume abortions until the state’s trigger law goes into effect.
3:04 p.m. — We publish a story detailing the lawsuit and its arguments.
8:44 p.m. — We publish a photo essay and video on the protests around the state over abortion rights.
Tuesday, June 28
11:59 a.m. — A judge in Houston grants a temporary restraining order allowing clinics to resume abortions up to six weeks of pregnancy. We publish a story on this development.
Wednesday, June 29
5 a.m. — We report on an abortion clinic moving to New Mexico: After losing battle to preserve Roe v. Wade, Mississippi’s last abortion clinic is moving to New Mexico
4:20 p.m. — We report on the legal limbo faced by funds that help women get abortions: Abortion funds languish in legal turmoil, their leaders fearing jail time if they help Texans
6:46 p.m. — We cover the perspectives of nurses: Texas nurses say ban on abortion is merely the start of the health problems women will face
Thursday, June 30
6:15 a.m. — Our daily news roundup email has the subject line “The Brief: Abortion funds languish post-Roe.”
6:45 p.m. — We publish a story about the disproportionate impact of the abortion ban on Black women, who have a notably higher maternal mortality rate in Texas than white women: Facing higher teen pregnancy and maternal mortality rates, Black women will largely bear the brunt of abortion limits