The deadline is looming for the passage of anti-abortion bill SB-5 in the state of Texas and if Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) can successfully filibuster the bill until Tuesday's midnight deadline, the Texas Senate will emerge victorious in its attempt to kill the polarizing legislation.
According to a report from UPI.com, the hotly contested bill is currently stalled in the Texas state Senate after Republicans in the House recently approved it. After a lengthy debate on Sunday, attended by hundreds of protesters, Republicans voted to end the debate and pass the measure at approximately 4:00 a.m. The bill was officially passed in the House later Monday morning.
Legislature rules mandate a 24-hour period between when a bill leaves the House before it can be picked up by the Senate. With the 30-day special legislative session ending at midnight tonight, Davis will have to endure a 13-hour filibuster, which began just after 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, to keep the bill from passing.
Davis tweeted her intended stand against the bill Monday night, saying "The leadership may not want to listen to TX women, but they will have to listen to me. I intend to filibuster this bill. Stand with me tomorrow, and share your story with me so I can tell it from the Senate floor."
International Business Times reports that SB-5 would ban all abortions after 20 weeks. The law would require that clinics be classified as ambulatory surgical centers—an upgrade most can't afford. Doctors would also be required to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles, difficult if not impossible in some rural areas of Texas. Opponents of the bill say that these restrictions would mean almost all Texas' 42 abortion clinics would have to be shut down.
"If this passes, abortion would be virtually banned in the state of Texas, and many women would be forced to resort to dangerous and unsafe measures," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
According to CBS local news in Dallas-Forth Worth, Davis can only stop the bill with a filibuster if she speaks continuously, and stays on topic for the entire 13 hours. She will not be able to stop or take a break, not even for meals or the bathroom. She is not allowed to lean against anything for support—possibly why she arrived Tuesday morning in a comfortable pair of pink sneakers. A successful filibuster is the only way for the Senate to block the bill.
If Davis fails and the legislation passes, Republican Gov. Rick Perry has already promised to sign it into law, according to Fox 2 Now.
"In Texas, we value all life, and we've worked to cultivate a culture that supports the birth of every child," Perry said. "We have an obligation to protect unborn children, and to hold those who peddle these abortions to standards that would minimize the death, disease and pain they cause."
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