Jessica Montoya Coggins

Jessica Montoya Coggins
Why Contraception For Teens Matters

Why Contraception For Teens Matters

Last month, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was once again suing the Biden administration. This latest lawsuit concerns a program known as Title X that offers family-planning services for low-income Americans, including contraception for teenagers.  The Title X program that offers free contraception for teenagers was previously targeted by

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Billboards Highlight Consequences Of Texas Abortion Ban

Billboards Highlight Consequences Of Texas Abortion Ban

On Monday, August 5 Texans in the greater San Antonio area will start seeing four large billboards with a shocking message: “Everything’s bigger in Texas: including our infant mortality rate.” The infant mortality rate in Texas has indeed increased since the near-total abortion ban Senate Bill 8 went into

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Trump Abortion Bans And The Race In Texas

Trump Abortion Bans And The Race In Texas

On Monday, a six-week abortion ban went into effect in Iowa. The Midwest state is now the 22nd to enact some form of an abortion ban since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Following the newest state abortion ban, the Democratic National Committee convened a press call to discuss

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Abbott Receives Big Bucks From Voucher Advocates

Abbott Receives Big Bucks From Voucher Advocates

In June, Greg Abbott released a semi-annual campaign finance report that showed eye-popping figures from two school voucher advocates: Jeff Yass and Jim Walton. The donations, totaling $4.2 million, are a continuing saga in Abbott’s overtures towards school choice backers.  Texas is the largest red state that has

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Kamala Harris On The Campaign Trail

Kamala Harris On The Campaign Trail

The last couple of days for Vice President Kamala Harris have been a whirlwind, but as she takes on her first events as the presumptive Democratic nominee for President it’s clearly emerging that she is delivering a distinct communicative style that leans into some of the salient issues concerning

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
President Biden Ends Re-Election Bid, Endorses Harris

President Biden Ends Re-Election Bid, Endorses Harris

On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he was ending his re-election bid in a statement published to social media. He quickly followed up the stunning announcement with his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President.  The Chair of the Texas Democratic Party, Gilberto Hinojosa,

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
J.D. Vance: Anti-Abortion Acolyte

J.D. Vance: Anti-Abortion Acolyte

On Wednesday, the Republican National Convention formally introduced its Vice-Presidential nominee J.D. Vance. The Ohio Senator is a 39-year-old former venture capitalist who rose to prominence thanks to his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which offered a harshly critical lens on his upbringing.    A one-time critic of Trump, Vance changed his

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Incendiary Rhetoric And Misinformation Over Immigration

Incendiary Rhetoric And Misinformation Over Immigration

On the second day of the GOP Convention in Milwaukee, the Republican Party hammered a message centered on immigration. The day of programming, known as “Make America Safe Once Again,” featured a series of speeches promoting anti-immigrant talking points, many of which are factually untrue. Ahead of the day’s

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
The Future Project 2025 Envisions

The Future Project 2025 Envisions

While the drama surrounding President Biden appears to have reached a fever-pitch, with no clear sign of what’s to come, Donald Trump’s campaign churns along. And as the former president looks to reclaim his past position, Project 2025 has emerged as a visceral siren for what another Trump

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Millions Still Without Power As Temperatures Soar

Millions Still Without Power As Temperatures Soar

On Tuesday July 9, Texans in the wake of Hurricane Beryl had their first full day to assess the damage of the Category 1 storm. Millions of customers remain without power as temperatures are expected to rise to a heat index of 105 degrees. Beryl made landfall near the small

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Abbott Promotes Pro-Voucher Major Donor

Abbott Promotes Pro-Voucher Major Donor

With the runoff elections in Texas over, Greg Abbott has been touting school vouchers as a major priority for the state. Earlier this year, the pro-voucher agenda received a boost after several rural Republicans lost to school choice candidates. Before that Abbott had called four special elections to try and

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Afiya Center Set To Host HIV Testing Event

Afiya Center Set To Host HIV Testing Event

On Saturday, June 29 the Afiya Center will be hosting their eleventh annual “Get Tested, Grab A Bite” at Glendale Park in Dallas. The yearly HIV testing event has been a hallmark feature for the Afiya Center, which is the only reproductive justice organization in North Texas founded by, and

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Confronting The Reality Of Anti-Abortion Centers

Confronting The Reality Of Anti-Abortion Centers

At twenty, Maleeha found herself with an unplanned pregnancy. She had come to America just a year before and was a college student in north Texas. Maleeha had been on birth control and didn’t think it was possible for her to be pregnant. After eight pregnancy tests, though, she

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
A DACA Anniversary Amid Uncertain Future

A DACA Anniversary Amid Uncertain Future

Over the weekend the Biden Administration celebrated the twelfth anniversary of DACA with a poignant video highlighting several Dreamers who have benefited from the policy. The acknowledgment of the anniversary arrives as the Obama-era program has been hobbled by a hostile court system and faces a potentially grimmer future.  In

By Jessica Montoya Coggins
Supreme Court Tosses Abortion Medication Challenge

Supreme Court Tosses Abortion Medication Challenge

Earlier today the Supreme Court, in an unanimous decision authored by Brett Kavanaugh, tossed a lawsuit that was seeking to revoke the FDA approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in a medication abortion. Kavanaugh’s opinion made it clear that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a conservative medical

By Jessica Montoya Coggins