After a grueling eleven-hour filibuster succeeded in stalling a bill banning late-term abortions in the Senate on Tuesday, Republican Governor Rick Perry has called the Texas legislature to revisit the proposed legislation in a second special congressional session next month.
Senator Wendy Davis was able to stand, to refrain from going to the restroom, and to speak on point for over ten hours on Tuesday night. She hoped to stall the bill that was likely to pass in the Senate until the special session of congress that Governor Rick Perry had summoned would end that night. The Senator from Dallas/Fort Worth violated filibuster rules three times during her speech, and the Senate was able to vote – and pass – the late-term abortion bill; however, presiding officer Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was unable to sign the bill before midnight, and the bill was declared to be dead a few hours later.
The scene at the Texas Senate was rather unorthodox on Tuesday night – when Davis’ filibuster came to an end because she had gone off topic and Republican Senators motioned to vote, unruly pro-abortion members in the gallery booed and shouted “Shame! Shame!” at them. The bill that they were protesting bans abortion after babies are 20 weeks old, a time when many prematurely born children are able to survive outside of the womb. The bill also called for abortion clinics to have higher health care standards. “It makes zero sense that the second most-common surgical procedure in the United States is done at clinics that are not held to the same standards as other surgical facilities,” said Perry of the bill’s requirement for abortion clinics to become surgical centers.
The governor spoke at a National Right to Life convention in Dallas this morning, saying that the commotion in the gallery on Tuesday night prevented the Texas legislature from doing their jobs. “They will resort to mob tactics to force their minority agenda on the people of Texas,” said Perry, appalled by the decorum of those in opposition of the bill. “Who are we to say that children born in the worst of circumstances can’t grow to live successful lives?” asked Perry.
He cited Senator Wendy Davis, a once single teenaged mom who went on to graduate from Harvard Law School and to become a Texas Senator, as a prime example of someone taking care of their baby, despite difficulty. “It’s unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example – that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential, and that every life matters.”
Perry promoted pro-life centers that offer women “a chance at new life” and help them to make a more informed decision before terminating the life of their child. Pregnancy centers in the state offer parenting courses, prenatal care, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who feel helpless and alone in their pregnancy.
The Texas legislature will convene on July 1 to revisit the bill in a second special session of congress. Perry concluded, “Until the day Roe v. Wade is nothing but a shameful footnote in our nation's history books, we won't give up the good fight. May God bless you and, through you, may He continue to bless this nation we love so much.”
