Axios

Texas Children's Hospital must open what is believed to be the country's first "detransition clinic" and pay the state $10 million as part of a settlement over transgender care for minors, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday.

Why it matters: The settlement marks the latest move by Texas Republicans to restrict transgender rights as the state has enacted some of the nation's toughest policies targeting trans people, including limits on gender-affirming care for minors, sports participation and bathroom access.

WASHINGTON — High maternal mortality in the U.S. is preventable, according to advocates, physicians, policy leaders and executives at an Axios Future of Health event on May 13.

Why it matters: The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among wealthy countries, despite most pregnancy-related deaths being preventable.

Axios' Maya Goldman and Caitlin Owens moderated the Expert Voices roundtable, which was sponsored by Heartland Forward.

By the numbers: 649 women died of maternal causes in the U.S. in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of these deaths are considered avoidable and the actual numbers may be undercounted.

• One-third of U.S. counties lack hospitals, obstetricians or birth centers, said Stephanie Ogorzalek, Planned Parenthood Federation of America vice president of research and policy.
• Black women are up to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes, she added.

Case in point: 4Kira4Moms founder Charles Johnson's wife, Kira, died due to preventable internal bleeding shortly after she delivered their son via C-section in 2016.

• "One of the things we're focused on is developing programs, tools, and giving fathers everything they need to show up as that rightful advocate and support person," he said.

What they're saying: "It's actually not rocket science," Centene chief health officer Alice Chen said. "We don't need a lot more studies."

• What families need are doulas, midwives and continuous postpartum Medicaid eligibility, she added.
• Paid leave and eradicating maternal mortality are "inextricably linked," Bobbie director of impact and policy Michele Lampach said.
• "Giving everyone remote blood pressure monitors is incredibly effective," said Ivirma Global chief transformation officer Elena Mendez-Escobar.

Stunning stat: Preeclampsia, the condition of dangerously high blood pressure associated with pregnancy, accounts for "11%–14% of maternal mortality globally and is the second most frequent direct obstetrical cause of death," according to a 2025 study.

State of play: White House officials hope to build on a four-year pilot program involving over 200 hospitals that found a "41.5% reduction in maternal mortality," Health and Human Services chief counselor Chris Klomp said.

• "We had funds. We've done it. We want to do more of it, because that's an extraordinary result."

What's next: Advocates need to craft and spread a compelling narrative, BirthFund founder Elaine Welteroth said.

• "We don't want to just keep telling Black women or other women that you're going to die in birth," she said. There is "a solution and a pathway to safer, beautiful, joyful, sacred birth."
• "Data informs people, but people move people," Johnson said.

Content from the sponsor's remarks:

Olivia Walton, founder of the maternal and child health center for policy and practice at Heartland Forward, and founder and CEO at Ingeborg, said that her bipartisan "Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America" initiative is part of a five-year sprint to cut the U.S. maternal mortality rate in half.

• "The stakes are too high and the solutions are too clear not to get arm-in-arm and work on this together," she said.
• "We know what works. We know the time is now," Heartland Forward president Angie Cooper added.

President Trump said Friday he's unsure whether he would greenlight a planned $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan after discussing arms sales in "great detail" with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Why it matters: The trip began with a warning from Xi about the potential for "conflicts" over Taiwan, and Trump made clear during the visit that he did not want to provoke one.

A wave of voting rights battles and GOP redistricting fights is triggering a coordinated response across the South, with organizers preparing a "Summer of Action" campaign with marches that start this weekend.

Why it matters: Organizers say the fight over congressional maps, voting access and political representation is accelerating in real time as states redraw political power ahead of November's midterms and the 2028 general election.

In his eight years at the helm of America's central bank, Jerome Hayden Powell has guided the U.S. economy through extreme tumult and fought off unprecedented presidential efforts to undermine the Federal Reserve's independence.

• But that's not what I'll tell my now-young children about Powell once they're old enough to care about central bankers.

The big picture: It is Powell's approach to duty and public service that is his ultimate legacy as a leader and that will shape his place in history.

The CEOs of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Snap have been invited back to Capitol Hill for a broad oversight hearing in June, Axios has learned.

• Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is planning a June 23 hearing titled "Examining Tech Industry Practices and the Implications for Users and Families: Is This Social Media's Big Tobacco Moment?" per committee spokesperson Hannah Akey.

Three major conflicts are shaping America's AI race against China in real time, with changing global dynamics shifting the terms week by week:

• The race with China on advancing AI models
• Conflicting federal vs. state laws in the U.S.
• European AI policy

Why it matters: All three factors are fraught with politics and delicate dynamics, and all will help determine whether the U.S. continues to lead the world in advanced AI.

Senate Republicans are looking for an off-ramp on an issue that divides their leadership team: year-round ethanol sales.

• "We are probably going to have to make a tweak on the small refinery exemption, which we're working on," Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told Axios.

Why it matters: Public splits between Senate GOP leaders are rare. But few issues fracture Republicans like ethanol.

A new political thriller is mulling what would happen if the United States had a 17-year-old as president.

The big picture: The premise is meant to challenge young Americans to run for office, taking control away from aging politicians and giving it to those who will live with the government's decisions for decades to come.

President Trump's summit with Xi Jinping was staged as a reunion between old friends, concluding Friday with a private tour of Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party's secretive leadership compound.

• Strolling the gardens, Trump declared the blooms around him "the most beautiful roses anyone has ever seen." Xi promised to send him seeds.

Why it matters: The warm public choreography of the past two days has masked a stubborn reality: Nearly every force shaping U.S.-China relations is pulling them apart.