joining me now is the author of that article, laura bassett. irst of all, thank you for being here tonight. >> great to be here. >> women have a right to choose, laura. so how did we get here? >> i don't know. i thought this was settled in 1973. you know roe v. wade. the supreme court decided in roe v. wade that women should be legally able to get an abortion up until the fetus is viable, around 22 to 24 weeks. and anti-abortion advocates, particularly over the last few years have been really successful at chipping away at the rights by passing little bitty laws that add up to a big deal. we're seeing the worst in texas right now. i would call it an all-out crisis. not only are legislators slashing the family planning budgets. i mean 75 clinics have closed in texas that were only providing birth control and iuds and other health service. >> 75 women's clinics have closed in texas? >> 75 family planning clinics were closed. they weren't even providing abortions. and in addition to, that 24 abortion clinics have closed, and a bunch more are expect

incredibly, as laura bassett writes in the huffington post.nks to newly upheld abortion -- women are crossing the border to mexico and haunting back alleys in search for medical care. but the battle is not just about abortions and not a battle just being waged by politicians. the aclu filed a lawsuit -- meanwhile, in oklahoma, doctors at the jane phillips medical center were reportedly told that can no longer prescribe birth control unless it's for reasons other than contraception. that would lead just one obgyn who could prescribe birth control in a city with more than 18,000 women. a spokesperson for st. john's health system which owns jane phillips said while our physicians agree to abide by the directives, they also have the ability to prescribe in accordance with their medical professional judgment. so it's not just hobby lobby and republicans who want to restrict women's health care. as this "new york times" article points out, the biggest wave of mergers since the 1990s is creating giant hospital systems that could one day dominate amer

. >> irin carmon and laura bassett, thank you. >> thank you. >>> and now, this morning, new details on the shooting at ft. hood last week. specialist ivan lopez shot at least 50 rounds before killing three people, and injuriing as many as 19 others. friends said that he wanted more time off after his mother died, but some say we may never know the motive. president obama will at a tend a memorial at the army base tomorrow. >> it has been a wild few days of weather with tornados and flooding. tornadoes through the midwest have ripped across rural areas. there was a tornado that damaged 30 homes and many more in mississippi. last night, search teams found the body of a 9-year-old girl swept away by floodwaters. >>> freshman republican congressman vance mcallister ran on a platform of traditional values and now that he was caught on surveillance cameras kissing a staffer outside of her apartment, he has apologized and both of them are married. this is part of the statement, no doubt i have fallen short and asking for forgiveness, and asking for forgiveness from god, my wife, my kids and m