AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas House
approved new abortion limits Wednesday in a second special session, less
than two weeks after Senate Republicans failed to finish work on the
bill amid a filibuster and raucous protests.
Opponents
of HB 2, an abortion bill, yell outside the Texas House after the bill
is provisionally approved, Tuesday, July 9, 2013, in Austin, Texas. The
bill passed a final, formal vote Wednesday. It requires doctors to have
admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, only allow abortions in
surgical centers, dictate when abortion pills are taken and ban
abortions after 20 weeks. (AP)
A final vote could be held as early as
Friday in the Senate, where the measure died as the first special
session expired. The House voted mostly along party lines on what has
become signature GOP legislation.
Lawmakers spent more than 10 hours
debating it Tuesday, and Republicans rejected every attempt to amend the
bill. Throngs of protesters were missing for Wednesday’s mostly
procedural vote after days of protests by supporters and opponents.
The bill requires doctors to have
admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, only allow abortions in
surgical centers and ban abortions after 20 weeks.
The House gallery was largely empty
Wednesday morning, with a smattering of the orange and blue T-shirts
worn by opponents and supporters of the bill. This was in stark contrast
to Tuesday night’s vote, when hundreds filled the Capitol rotunda
chanting, “Shame on you!”
Planned Parenthood took their Stand
With Texas Women campaign on the road Tuesday, rallying more than 1,100
supporters in downtown Houston to oppose the measure. The bus tour was
expected in Dallas on Wednesday, with a speech by Fort Worth Sen. Wendy
Davis, a rising Democratic star following her filibuster against the
bill last month.
Rep.
Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, holds a sonogram showing his unborn son
during final remarks before a final vote on HB 2, an abortion
bill,Tuesday, July 9, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (AP)
No other issue in Texas has rallied
Democratic voters, young activists and women’s right supporters in
recent years like House Bill 2. The Texas Democratic Party has helped
organize rallies opposing the bill and have used them to register new
voters.
Gov. Rick Perry has made it a personal
goal to end abortions in Texas, and voting for anti-abortion measures
is a litmus test for Republican politicians. Conservative Christian
groups keep scorecards on lawmaker’s voting records.
There is little Democrats can do to
stop the measure in the Republican-controlled Legislature. But they have
worked hard to enter into the legislative record testimony that
opponents can use to convince a federal court to overturn the law before
it can take effect.
They also say the Texas restrictions
and those passed by other states conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court’s
1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established that a woman has the right
to get an abortion until her fetus could viably survive outside of the
womb, which is generally at 22 to 24 weeks of the pregnancy.
A
woman carries a sign as she marches with other pro-abortion rights
supporters through downtown Austin, Texas on Monday evening, July 8,
2013. The Texas House began debating a bill on Tuesday that would impose
tough new restrictions on abortions. (AP)
Supports
of an abortion bill cheer during an anti-abortion rally at the Texas
Capitol, Monday, July 8, 2013, in Austin, Texas. The fight over access
to abortion in Texas resumed Monday with thousands expected to attend a
marathon Senate hearing and a nighttime anti-abortion rally at the
Capitol. (AP)
It’s unclear if the Texas restrictions
could survive a court challenge. Federal courts have suspended aspects
of the bill enacted by other states. On Monday, a federal judge blocked
enforcement of a Wisconsin abortion law requiring admitting privileges.
The Texas Medical Association, the
Texas Hospital Association and the American College of Obstetrics and
Gynecology oppose the bill, calling it unnecessary.
Democratic Rep. Ruth McClendon, of San
Antonio, made one last attempt to amend the bill Wednesday to add
funding for the Adoption Assistance Program, which provides financial
assistance to families that adopt children in the foster care system.
Other Democrats said that if the bill passes, then the number of
unintended pregnancies would increase and place greater demand on the
foster system.
“If we don’t adopt this amendment, then we are saying that we don’t care about the children of Texas,” she said.
But the bill’s author Rep. Jody
Laubenberg, R-Parker, said she opposed all amendments to her bill. She
said the Legislature had appropriated enough money for foster children.
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