Judge Sam Sparks of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas announced this week he is again delaying his ruling on a new Texas Department of State Health Services edict requiring health care providers to cremate or bury fetal remains.

The state argues the rule is in the interest of women’s health and safety. Plaintiffs allege it was a reaction to the Supreme Court decision in Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt (the court battle over Texas’ most recent set of abortion restrictions).

On this edition of Houston Matters, we get the latest from Andrea Zelinsky, Austin bureau reporter for the Houston Chronicle.

Also this hour…

Breakthrough Prize Winner Huda Zoghbi

Dr. Huda  Zoghbi, professor in the departments of pediatrics, molecular and human genetics, neurology and neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, has had a roller-coaster life. While in medical school in Beirut, civil war forced her to the U.S. Once arriving here, she received her medical degree as a pediatric neurologist from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn.

At Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Zoghbi has made a noticeable impact studying the genes behind neurological disorders such as Rett Syndrome and spinocerebellar ataxia, which has led to other discoveries. In December 2016, Dr. Zoghbi was awarded The Breakthrough Foundation Prize. It’s awarded to researchers who have made discoveries that extend human life. Paige Phelps sat down with her to discuss her life’s work.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of This Week’s News

A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week’s news, we turn to our rotating panel of “non-experts” to parse The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of it all. On this edition, we discuss the latest moves toward renaming Dowling Street as Emancipation Avenue, students returning from winter break to a vandalized school filled with offensive graffiti, the Houston murder rate holding steady, and a website calling Bush Intercontinental Airport  a top airport for Millennials. This week’s panel includes Houston Chronicle writer Kyrie O’Connor; Russ Capper, CEO of HighDrive.TV, and Wayne Ashley, The Texas Leftist.

Indie Rock Group Islands Performs

The Los Angeles-based Indie rock group Islands has been known for quirky music that veers from experimental psychedelia to melancholy rock ballads to hook-laden electronic pop. They recently performed a few songs in Houston Public Media’s Geary Performance Studio. We take a listen.

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