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Black Texas women are more than twice as likely as white women to die within a year of their pregnancies ending, a new report shows. Though black women delivered only 11.4 percent of babies in Texas from 2011 to 2012, they accounted for 28.8 percent of pregnancy-related deaths. A task force commissioned by state lawmakers in 2013 to study pregnancy-related deaths and complications recently released its first report detailing the leading causes of maternal death and offering recommendations for legislators to consider next year. (Martin, 8/23)

A key anti-abortion group is encouraging states to compile statistics on abortion and demographic information on women who get them, the latest in a growing effort among abortion opponents to compile more data. The Charlotte Lozier Institute, the education and research arm of the Susan B. Anthony List, on Wednesday plans to release a report identifying which states compile the most thorough abortion statistics. The report will also outline model requirements that states could follow. The goal is to encourage all states — but Lozier Institute President Chuck Donovan is hoping for about 25 to 30 — to enact laws or regulations to compile statistics on abortion rates. (Haberkorn, 8/24)