Last night was supposed to be the last night of Texas’ 30-day special session. None were left without excitement as Senator Wendy Davis, a Fort Worth Democrat, talked for over 10 hours on an abortion bill. The rules of the special session were for the session to expire at midnight on Tuesday, not allowing any further voting to occur.
Senate Bill 5 would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, require abortion clinics to meet the same standards that hospital-style surgical centers do, and mandate that a doctor who performs abortions have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
As news of the filibuster made its way to the public, people started pouring into the Texas state capital Tuesday night. There were so many people chanting and yelling that the Lt. Governor could not hear to decide if the vote had occurred before or after midnight. The time stamp on the bill was 12:03am, causing the Lt. Governor to state the bill was dead.
There is still a chance this bill could be brought up again for consideration, if Governor Rick Perry decides to call another special session.
Senator Wendy Davis as she debates SB 5
