Texas Abortion Bills Falls after challenge

Texas abortion bill falls after challenge

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Despite barely
beating a midnight deadline, hundreds of
jeering protesters helped stop Texas
lawmakers from passing one of the
toughest abortion measures in the country.
As the protesters raised the noise to
deafening levels in the Texas Senate
chamber late Tuesday, Republicans
scrambled to gather their colleagues at the
podium for a stroke-of-midnight vote.
"Get them out!" Sen. Donna Campbell
shouted to a security guard, pointing to
the thundering crowd in the gallery
overhead that had already been screaming
for more than 10 minutes.
State troopers try to clear the gallery after
Davies' filibuster.This verified video was
uploaded to YouTube by journalist Andrea
Grimes.
"Time is running out," Campbell pleaded. "I
want them out of here!"
It didn't work. The noise never stopped
and despite barely beating the midnight
end-of-session deadline with a vote to
pass the bill, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said
the chaos in the chamber prevented him
from formally signing it before the
deadline passed, effectively killing it.
Dewhurst denounced the protesters as an
"unruly mob." Democrats who urged them
on called the outburst democracy in action.
In either point of view, a raucous crowd of
chanting, singing, shouting demonstrators
effectively took over the Texas Capitol and
blocked a bill that abortion rights groups
warned would close most abortion clinics
in the state.
"They were asking for their voices to be
heard," said Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort
Worth, who spent nearly 11 hours trying
to filibuster the bill before the outburst.
"The results speak for themselves."
The final outcome took several hours to
sort out.
Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards
announces the vote result to
protesters.This verified video was
uploaded to YouTube by journalist Andrea
Grimes.
Initially, Republicans insisted the vote
started before the midnight deadline and
passed the bill that Democrats spent the
day trying to kill. But after official
computer records and printouts of the
voting record showed the vote took place
Wednesday, and then were changed to
read Tuesday, senators retreated into a
private meeting to reach a conclusion.
At 3 a.m., Dewhurst emerged from the
meeting still insisting the 19-10 vote was
in time, but said, "with all the ruckus and
noise going on, I couldn't sign the bill" and
declared it dead.
He denounced the more than 400
protesters who staged what they called "a
people's filibuster" from 11:45 p.m. to well
past midnight. He denied mishandling the
debate.
"I didn't lose control (of the chamber). We
had an unruly mob," Dewhurst said. He
even hinted that Gov. Rick Perry may
immediately call another 30-day special
session, adding: "It's over. It's been fun.
But see you soon."
Many of the protesters had flocked to the
normally quiet Capitol to support Davis,
who gained national attention and a
mention from President Barack Obama's
campaign Twitter account. Her Twitter
following went from 1,200 in the morning
to more than 20,000 by Tuesday night.
"My back hurts. I don't have a lot of words
left," Davis said when it was over and she
was showered with cheers by activists
who stayed at the Capitol to see her. "It
shows the determination and spirit of
Texas women."
Davis' mission was cut short but her effort
ultimately helped Democrats earn a rare
victory in a Legislature dominated by
Republicans for more than a decade.
"It's a bad bill," said Sen. Kirk Watson of
Austin, leader of the Senate Democrats.
The bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks
of pregnancy and force many clinics that
perform the procedure to upgrade their
facilities and be classified as ambulatory
surgical centers. Also, doctors would be
required to have admitting privileges at a
hospital within 30 miles — a tall order in
rural communities.
If signed into law, the measures would
have closed almost every abortion clinic in
Texas, a state 773 miles wide and 790
miles long with 26 million people. A woman
living along the Mexico border or in West
Texas would have to drive hundreds of
miles to obtain an abortion if the law
passed. The law's provision that abortions
be performed at surgical centers means
only five of Texas' 42 abortion clinics are
currently designated to remain in
operation.

Republicans and anti-abortion groups
insisted their goal was to improve
women's health care, but also
acknowledged wanting clinics to close.
"If this passes, abortion would be virtually
banned in the state of Texas, and many
women could be forced to resort to
dangerous and unsafe measures," said
Cecile Richards, president of Planned
Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of
the late former Texas governor Ann
Richards.

The showdown came after Davis had
slogged her way through about 11 hours
of speaking while Senate Republicans —
and several House members — watched
and listened for any slipup that would
allow them to end the filibuster and call a
vote.

Democrats chose Davis, of Fort Worth, to
lead the effort because of her background;
she had her first child as a teenager and
went on to graduate from Harvard Law
School.
Rules stipulated she remain standing, not
lean on her desk or take any breaks —
even for meals or to use the bathroom. But
she also was required to stay on topic, and

Republicans pointed out a mistake and
later protested again when another
lawmaker helped her with a back brace.
Lawmakers can vote to end a filibuster
after three sustained points of order. As
tension mounted over Davis' speech and
the dwindling clock

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