Basically Perry and the gang of thieves are trying to emulate Mississippi's policy of regulating clinics out of existence. This bill probably would've shut down 37 of the 42 clinics currently operating in Texas.Dressed for Texas' strict filibuster rules, State Sen. Wendy Davis took to the chamber floor wearing pink tennis shoes in place of dress shoes at 11:18 a.m. CT on Tuesday in Austin.
Davis then started a filibuster that would end in a nationwide spectacle and the failure of Texas lawmakers to pass a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks and effectively close most abortion clinics in the state.
For 10 hours, Davis stayed on topic and was not allowed to lean on anything or take a break for the restroom.
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Meanwhile, support off of the floor was picking up steam. So much steam that state senators say the uproar of hundreds of protesters chanting and filling the Capitol derailed the voting.
State Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said to the Texas Tribune that Democrats "didn't even know we were voting" because they were too busy celebrating that the clock had passed midnight, the time when the vote needed to be in. "How can we call a vote if we can't hear?" he said.
"The people can't come and create so much of a ruckus that we can't do our job," said state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, to the Tribune. "I think it's fair to say this is not the way the Senate should do its business."
As the marathon filibuster went on, support for Davis grew online with the trending hashtag #StandWithWendy and in person as supporters filled the rotunda of the Capitol.
Even President Obama chimed in, tweeting, "Something special is happening in Austin tonight: #StandWithWendy" with a link to the Texas Tribune.
Davis tweeted her intentions early Monday morning: "The leadership may not want to listen to TX women, but they will have to listen to me. I intend to filibuster this bill." Her Twitter followers swelled from 1,200 in the morning to more than 20,000 by Tuesday night.
"She's a total fighter," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late former Texas governor Ann Richards. "And the thing about Senator Davis, she says he's going to do something, she gets it done."
Then we could finally get serious about competing with Mississippi for 'Most teen pregnancies' and 'Most single mothers on Federal welfare' because Texas has to be the BEST.
Now, here's how the Texas state legislature works: we have a single 140 day session every other year. The legislators typically spend the rest of their time in productive pursuits like devouring babies and fellating donors. The governor can call a special session at any time during the off-season, lasting no more than thirty days. However, they can also call as many of these special sessions as they want. So right now Perry's sticking a finger in the wind to see if the mood is such as to support yet another special session that will cram this shit through. The fight's nowhere near won, but at least the Forces of Darkness have been held off for a bit.
