Texas Senate Passes 20-week Abortion Ban Bill

Texas legislators have passed a contentious bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in a vote of 19-11

The legislation, which was debated in the state Senate after passing in the House, will also shut down most of the state's abortion clinics.
Republicans had moved quickly to pass the bill after a Democratic senator originally blocked it with a marathon delaying speech.(The bill came near to passage last month but was blocked in the state Senate when Senator Wendy Davis spoke for nearly 11 hours - in a delaying speech known as a filibuster - in an attempt to run out the clock on the legislative session)
Governor Rick Perry has vowed to sign the bill into law amid large protests

Only six abortion clinics in Texas can be classified as surgical centres, and all are in major metropolitan areas, according to the Texas Tribune. Critics say the provision will force some women to travel hundreds of miles to have an abortion, while supporters say it will protect women's health and the foetus

The Bill's Sponsor, Senator Glenn Hegar, argued during debate on Friday that all abortions, including those that are medically induced, should take place at a surgical centre in case of complications

Among the Bill's Opponents were the Texas Medical Association, the Texas Hospital Association and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.


Note

• The US Supreme Court legalised abortion nationwide in 1973, but about a dozen states have enacted laws in recent years limiting access to the procedure. Some of that state legislation is tied up in court battles

• The Texas legislation mirrors a series of state laws recently passed in Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kansas, Wisconsin and Arizona