From ThinkProgress.org:
Texas lawmakers are currently rushing an omnibus anti-abortion bill through a special session, after each of its provisions failed to advance separately during the regular legislative session. But not without being met with a fight. Over 700 Texans traveled to Austin on Thursday to testify against the anti-abortion measure before it could come to a vote in the House — and their “people’s filibuster” successfully prevented the legislation from advancing.
SB 5 combines several attacks on reproductive access into one measure, and would ultimately force over over 40 abortion clinics across the Lone Star state to close their doors. After the Texas Senate passed SB 5 on Tuesday, a House committee took it up for consideration. Anti-abortion opponents were reportedly discouraged from testifying in favor of the measure before the House vote, in case the legislature runs out of time to approve it before the special session concludes on June 25.
But opponents of SB 5 took the opposite approach, organizing hundreds of women’s health advocates to share their testimony in front of the House committee in the hopes of delaying the vote. An estimated 700 people registered to testify. Some protesters waited up to 12 hours to speak against SB 5, and supporters from across Texas ordered pizza, cookies, and drinks to be delivered to them throughout the night on Thursday.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
I was following the #HB60 Twitter feed last night, and apparently testimony continued until 3:45am Texas time, when the House committee meeting was adjourned. It was pretty exciting.
At around 2:45am, @NerdyWonka tweeted that a projection had appeared on the side of the Capitol building:
Heck Yeah! #HB60 #HB16 RT @TaneneAllison: Now happening on the side of the Capitol in Austin!! #HB60 pic.twitter.com/X4WiAGA8jV
This was the attached image:
An update from The Austin Chronicle:
UPDATE: After an estimated 700 citizens turned up to give often insightful and emotional testimony on highly restrictive abortion legislation last night, House State Affairs Committee Chair Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, abruptly terminated the debate with no vote.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/...
#GoodbyeGOP
Update 1:
h/t magnifico, Dartagnan and xxdr zombiexx: The Goposaur d-bags on the House State Affairs Committee cut short the public testimony today and approved the god-awful bill. From AP:
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas House committee has approved new restrictions on abortions after cutting short an 11-hour hearing and denying hundreds of people the opportunity to testify against them.
House Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Cook held a meeting Friday to approve all of the measures, with Republicans voting for the measures and Democrats opposing. The vote came after hundreds of abortion rights supporters packed a hearing Thursday until 3:30 a.m. Friday morning.
Opponents hoped to stall the measures, but Cook cut off public testimony saying it was becoming repetitive. Houston Democrat Jessica Farrar said in 20 years she'd never seen a chairman cut short testimony.
http://www.oregonlive.com/...
Amendments will be debated on Sunday, and passage of the bill could occur as soon as Monday.
Nice outreach to women! I sincerely believe this will come back to bite the GOP hard in the ass. Time to turn Texas blue!