Live feed courtesy of the Texas Tribune.
Thousands of people have descended on the Capitol in Austin today to rally against anti-abortion legislation being taken up again in the Texas legislature. After Senator Wendy Davis’s successful filibuster led to the defeat of the anti-abortion bill SB5 in the Texas legislature last week, Governor Rick Perry called a second special session to attempt to pass the bill again. That special session begins at 2 pm CDT today. From Reuters:
This time, anti-abortion lawmakers won’t put themselves in a position in which time is about to run out, said Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values, which advocates for anti-abortion policies and other conservative causes.
“It seems as close to a sure thing as you can get,” Saenz said of the bill’s passage. But he added: “As we saw during the first special session, until it’s completely done and the process is finished, there are no guarantees. That’s going to motivate both sides to do everything they can to ensure victory.”
The bill numbers have changed for the special session, from SB5 to HB2 and SB9. You can find detailed explanations of what these bills would do here.
While Republicans likely have the votes—and the time—needed to pass the bills, on ABC’s This Week yesterday Wendy Davis said, “I just refuse to say I believe it will happen, I’m an eternal optimist. I believe in people; I believe in the power of democracy. And I’m going to fight with every fiber I have to keep it from passing.” She’s joined in that effort by pro-choice activists who flooded the capitol during the daylong filibuster last Tuesday and have promised to return again during the second special session. For live updates on the special session and the continuing demonstrations in Austin, check out the hashtags #TXlege, #SWTW, #TXrally, #HB2 on Twitter.
