How Texas Lawmakers Tried to Pass A Sweeping Anti-Abortion Bill – And Failed

Governor Rick Perry has called for yet another special session in an attempt to pass a sweeping abortion ban. In his words, because "Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn." What we’ve seen from Texas in the last week shows just the opposite: that Texans value a woman’s personal decisionmaking and don’t want politicians interfering. In light of his decision to try again to effectively outlaw abortion in Texas, it’s worth looking back on how concerned lawmakers and citizens were able to stop him so far.

Texas Governor Rick Perry was so determined to outlaw abortion in the state, that when no anti-abortion bills passed during the state legislature’s regular session, he decided to find another way. The Governor added a special 30-day session (usually reserved for emergencies) and the Lt. Governor suspended the normal vote requirements so that it would be easier to pass bills restricting abortion. On Monday morning, the Texas House of Representatives passed an omnibus anti-abortion bill. Among other things, the bill bans abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy and imposes strict regulations on clinics that perform the procedure. This measure is so extreme that it could mean the closure of all but five of Texas’ 42 clinics. Like many similar bills, this was portrayed as a measure to protect the safety of women – but as Representative Jessica Farrar, D-Houston pointed out, "If this bill is really about improving medical care, wouldn't the medical organizations support it?" 

Frustrated Texas citizens began to flood the Texas state house in Austin on Monday to protest this bill, silently sitting in the legislature’s galleries during the proceedings. Freelance writer Amy Gentry was among the protesters and reported witnessing some House lawmakers “playing Candy Crush on their cell phones, talking loudly to one another, milling around the floor, snoozing in their chairs, and cutting up like a pack of fourth-grade boys in gym class.” They didn’t debate the bill or answer questions and they did not listen to the non-partisan testimony from the Texas Medical Association which showed the negative effects of the bill, or Representative Dawnna Duke’s chilling account of her meeting with a woman who had been a victim of a back alley abortion.

What’s even more appalling is the way attempts by lawmakers to lessen the harm of the bill were treated. Anti-abortion lawmakers rejected an amendment to ensure that rural women were not denied access to abortion. They also rejected an attempt to add an exception for survivors of rape to the 20 week abortion ban. Even more insulting was the explanation of why from the bill’s sponsor, Representative Jodie Laubenberg.  Rep. Laubenberg said that, “In the emergency room they have what's called rape kits where a woman can get cleaned out. … The woman had five months to make that decision, at this point we are looking at a baby that is very far along in its development.” Believing rape kits that collect evidence have some magical ability to prevent women from getting pregnant? Yikes.

On the other side, the lawmakers dedicated to fighting for a woman’s right to abortion continued to protest. Determined to halt the bill before it went to the Senate the next day,Representative Jessica Farrar finally lost her voice after 19 futile hours and Representative Dukes made her compelling statement about the negative effects of limiting abortion at three in the morning. At the end of the night, Representative Sylvester Turner called out the anti-abortion lawmakers on their murky tactics and exclaimed “What you vote for in the dark of night, you will be accountable for in the light of day!” To this the pro-choice demonstrators sitting in the gallery burst into applause before they were swiftly silenced on the threat of removal.

And then we all got some more hope: during the early hours of Tuesday morning, State Senator Wendy Davis announced her intention to filibuster this bill in the Senate. The special session was already set to expire Tuesday at midnight – meaning that if Senator Davis could filibuster the bill for 13 hours, there would be no time for a vote. The bill would be defeated.

Senator Davis stood and filibustered the bill for 11 hours Tuesday in order to prevent anti-abortion Senators from voting before the deadline of the special legislative session. For 11 hours she was not allowed to eat, use the restroom, or lean against anything. Support for Senator Davis flooded Twitter and the internet, just as Texans began to flood the viewing gallery of the Senate chamber and the halls of the state house. Her opponents attempted to halt her filibuster by issuing warnings for mentioning Roe v. Wade, for allowing a Senator to help her put on a back brace, and for mentioning a Texas law requiring a mandatory ultrasound before obtaining an abortion, which was deemed “non-germane.”

After Senator Davis was cut short two hours before the end of the session, the Senators on her side sprang into action, submitting multiple procedural inquiries to stall for time. Senator Leticia Van de Putte tried to seek some order and asked, “Procedural inquiry, Mr. President... At what point, Mr. President, must a female senator raise her hand or voice to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?”

To this, the gallery broke into such thundering applause for twelve whole minutes that the bill could not be voted on before the deadline. However, a vote did happen at 12:02 AM, and following that the Texas Legislature’s official website showed that the bill had been passed before midnight. After screenshots and outrage at the changing of the official records, the anti-abortion lawmakers finally conceded that the bill did not pass in time.

It’s clear from the proceedings of this session that not only do the anti-abortion Texas lawmakers not have any concern for a woman’s right to abortion; they were not listening to their constituents. For now we must take solace in the fact that women have tireless advocates such as Senator Davis fighting tooth and nail for our right to safe, legal abortion.