Once I heard about it, I tuned in out of curiousity and was quickly enraptured by the whole proceedings. Basically, delay after delay after delay, up to the wire. And even after midnight rolled around, it was hard to tell if the vote occurred or if it didn't. Even now, no one really knows what went down.Texas Lawmaker Braving Backbreaking Filibuster to Stop Abortion Bill
The only thing left standing between Texas and one of the strictest anti-abortion bills in America is State Senator Wendy Davis.
Literally: Davis, a Fort Worth Democrat, is nearly three hours into a 13-hour filibuster intended to derail a Republican effort to pass a law that would "virtually ban" abortion in Texas, according to Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Cecile Richards.
NBC DFW explains:
[SB 5] 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.
According to Choice USA, if the bill passes, "all but 5 abortion clinics [out of 47] in the entire state would be forced to close their doors."
A Texas House version of the bill passed on Sunday after some stalling on the part of Democrats to try and keep the bill out of Senate hands until Monday.
This allowed Senate Democrats to pull a few delaying tactics of their own in order to prevent Republicans from voting on the measure before Tuesday morning.
Today, around 11 AM, Sen. Davis began a filibuster that must last until the special session ends tonight at midnight in order to ensure the bill's demise.
This will be no easy task: Senate rules require all filibustering lawmakers to remain standing for the entire duration of their speech — forbidding them from so much as leaning against a desk.
Davis is allowed to take questions from fellow Democrats, giving her time to rest her voice, but can't leave the podium for any reason.
To ensure she had sufficient material to speak for 13 hours straight, Davis asked women who have undergone abortions to send her their story "so I can tell it from the Senate floor."
To put into perspective the kind of mindset Davis is up against, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R), believes putting an exemption in the law for victims of rape and incest is unnecessary because these women have already been "cleaned out" by emergency room "rape kits."
Starting this thread to keep tabs on the topic.
