Just a brief update on the effect of Senator Wendy Davis's filibuster of S.B. 5, a sweeping anti-abortion bill which would have closed twenty of the twenty-five abortion clinics currently open in Texas and limited abortions to those before 20 weeks, NO exceptions.
Also, WOOOO! The Defense of Marriage Act, or Prop 8 in California, has been struck down! A great step towards true equality in America. :)
Anyways, after almost 13 hours of non-stop standing and talking, without the ability to eat, drink, or lean on anything, Sen. Wendy Davis was finally silenced because of a ruling stating she had gone off topic in speaking about Sonograms (which...considering Texas's law that a woman must have a sonogram - to see and "listen to a description of the fetus and its heartbeat" - before she can have an abortion... seems pretty on-topic to me)...(I think that's a rather keen example of institutional psychological abuse by a state government against a group of its people, but I suppose that is for another post...).
However, some of her fellow Senators and supporters came to her aid in the final moments, constantly stalling the vote with parliamentary inquiries into the validity of the order of the meeting, and with several points-of-interest brought up as well.
In the end, the Senate attempted to bring the bill to a vote, but - being after the deadline (after which, the convening special session could no longer function, effectively killing the bill), the vote was invalid and SB 5, dead.
What are your views on the subject? Are you pro-choice? Pro-life? Why?
Regardless of how you view the topic that they debated, it was nonetheless a refreshing sight, to see an elected official truly putting the will of her constituents before her own agenda.
Thank you, Sen. Wendy Davis, and thank you Sen. Garcia, for refusing to be silent about women's rights and women's health!
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