Texas Abortion Bill Fails to Pass Following Filibuster - East Idaho News
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Texas Abortion Bill Fails to Pass Following Filibuster

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145916215?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1372236991757iStockphoto/Thinkstock(AUSTIN, Texas) — For a few hours anyway, Texas had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

The GOP-controlled state Senate passed the bill, according to Republicans, before midnight Tuesday, thus giving legislative approval to the law while Democrats and opponents of the measure say the vote was invalid because it occurred after midnight.

Amid all the confusion was a Herculean effort by Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis to filibuster the bill by talking for 13 hours.  The lawmaker fell short of her goal by a few hours after the Texas lieutenant governor called an end to the filibuster on procedural objections.

However, with outrage rising after the Senate hurriedly voted for the abortion bill, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst early Wednesday admitted that lawmakers didn’t make the deadline, thus invalidating the vote.

Gov. Rick Perry is expected to keep the Senate in session until the bill passes.  The legislation makes it illegal for a woman to obtain an abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy while also closing down about 90 percent of clinics in Texas because they won’t meet the same standards as hospital-style surgical centers.

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