Nation Conversations: Jordan Smith: Reproductive Health? Not in Rick Perry’s Texas

Nation Conversations: Jordan Smith: Reproductive Health? Not in Rick Perry’s Texas

Nation Conversations: Jordan Smith: Reproductive Health? Not in Rick Perry’s Texas

As governor of Texas, Rick Perry has deliberately and systematically bankrupted state-provided healthcare for low income and uninsured women.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

As governor of Texas, Rick Perry has deliberately and systematically bankrupted state-provided healthcare for low income and uninsured women.

Rick Perry has served as the  governor of Texas for nearly eleven years—and in that time, he has deliberately and systematically bankrupted state-provided healthcare for low income and uninsured women. In this week’s installment of Nation Conversations, associate editor Liliana Segura and Austin Chronicle staff writer Jordan Smith discuss Perry’s perverse alliance with anti-abortion activists, and explain how a political war against Planned Parenthood has compelled Perry’s administration to divert $31 million in federal money from preventative services, including HIV testing and cervical cancer exams. You can read Jordan’s recent expose on Perry’s “war on women” here.

Subscribe to Nation Conversations on iTunes for exclusive audio of Nation editors and writers digging into the topics and issues that shape the magazine. Check back each Thursday for a new episode each week.

—Teresa Cotsirilos

Time is running out to have your gift matched 

In this time of unrelenting, often unprecedented cruelty and lawlessness, I’m grateful for Nation readers like you. 

So many of you have taken to the streets, organized in your neighborhood and with your union, and showed up at the ballot box to vote for progressive candidates. You’re proving that it is possible—to paraphrase the legendary Patti Smith—to redeem the work of the fools running our government.

And as we head into 2026, I promise that The Nation will fight like never before for justice, humanity, and dignity in these United States. 

At a time when most news organizations are either cutting budgets or cozying up to Trump by bringing in right-wing propagandists, The Nation’s writers, editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and illustrators confront head-on the administration’s deadly abuses of power, blatant corruption, and deconstruction of both government and civil society. 

We couldn’t do this crucial work without you.

Through the end of the year, a generous donor is matching all donations to The Nation’s independent journalism up to $75,000. But the end of the year is now only days away. 

Time is running out to have your gift doubled. Don’t wait—donate now to ensure that our newsroom has the full $150,000 to start the new year. 

Another world really is possible. Together, we can and will win it!

Love and Solidarity,

John Nichols 

Executive Editor, The Nation

Ad Policy
x