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Texas Pro-Choice Filibuster Barely Succeeds

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As many may know Texas has a very large Christian population combined with being a Republican state creating a very pro-life atmosphere. Despite this Texans have enjoyed access to abortions since Roe v. Wade. Republicans have introduced multiple bills in the past few years to ban or hinder the clinics. This month an anti-abortion bill, HB2, disguised as a health regulation bill was introduced. Its purpose was to create requirements for abortion clinics that were so hard to meet that the majority of the abortion clinics in the state would be closed from financial failure. Although Republican leaders have directly claimed these measures will make abortions safer, doctors have condemned the bill, calling the requirements proposed unreasonable.

For pro-choice Texans this bill would be a nightmare. Texas already has a high unplanned pregnancy rate especially among teens and those in poverty. Many are just ashamed that we still have to fight for the right to an abortion. However Senator Wendy Davis, a pro-choice Democrat took a stand on Capitol Hill to prevent these measures from passing. To do this without having majority support in the senate she performed an unorthodox move called a filibuster.

A filibuster is a loophole in the rules that allows a speaker to delay government proceedings. The rules vary depending on the situation but in this case a filibuster involved a person refusing to yield the floor by talking continuously often for hours until the end of the session so that there was no time for a vote to be made. However due to the physical and mental stress needed to successfully perform a filibuster they are quite uncommon. Admittedly the ability for one person to halt the progress of the entire government is somewhat anti-democratic, perhaps even deceitful. However in this case the Governor had called for a special session to pass the bill. Unlike a normal senate session in which two thirds of the vote is needed to pass the bill, this time Republicans only needed a majority. Wendy called this a “raw abuse of power” and responded accordingly with a nearly 13 hour long filibuster.

Thousands watched the situation online as the session came to a close Tuesday night. While politics is often dull, this was anything but. Wendy Davis stood for over 12 hours, talking continuously about abortion and how this law must not be passed. However, one catch is that she had to remain on topic or risk losing the floor and therefore fail the filibuster. As the day began to end, she received a third and final warning for being off topic around 11:30pm and was forced to yield the floor. For the next half hour Texans and their supporters expressed anger at her removal and worried that the vote may pass. The hash tag #standwithwendy and “Let Her Speak” exploded over Twitter and Facebook. Those physically situated at the State Building were not content sitting by idly. By creating noise, distractions, and rushing into the room, pro-choice supporters were able to delay the vote until almost exactly midnight. The vote was called at 12:02am, two minutes after the session should have ended. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst immediately attempted to declared it legitimate and within the required time frame despite objection from Democrats. The next morning a review of the situation revealed that the vote was indeed after midnight and therefore illegitimate. Texas women and families are able to keep their right to abortion a little longer.

Unfortunately, Texas Governor Rick Perry has vowed to continue to push pro-life laws and has already called for a second special session to pass this same bill. In a special session only a majority vote is needed for the bill to pass and therefore minority democrats in Texas may not be able keep delaying restrictions on abortions. However this event surprised many Texans and the rest of the world with the number and energy of those in Texas supporting Wendy Davis. Although Republicans have dominated Texan politics for years, the Democrats are hopeful that things may begin to change.

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