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Texas governor renews bid for abortion restrictions

by Reuters
Wednesday, 26 June 2013 21:57 GMT

* Texas governor will revive abortion proposal for July 1

* Filibuster temporarily blocked restrictions

* Texas would be most populous state to pass curbs (Updates with governor calling new session)

By Corrie MacLaggan

AUSTIN, Texas, June 26 (Reuters) - Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry on Wednesday called for a new legislative session to pass sweeping abortion restrictions after a marathon speech by a Democrat lawmaker briefly halted a bill critics say could shut most abortion clinics in one of the nation's biggest states.

"Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn," Perry said in a statement. "We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do."

Senator Wendy Davis, a single mother at the age of 19 who now is a rising star of the Democratic party, drew national attention when she spoke for more than 10 hours to block a measure that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

But it proved a pyrrhic victory for women's groups and abortion rights advocates fighting to stop abortion restrictions across several states. Governor Perry called for another special session to reconsider the proposal on July 1.

Davis' filibuster of the Republican supermajority in the Texas legislature was streamed live on some national media websites and propelled her to the national political stage.

Republicans managed to stop her about two hours ahead of the midnight end to the special legislative session citing parliamentary procedures, but they were unable to complete voting on the abortion bill before the deadline.

The abortion restrictions passed the House earlier in the week and a version of the proposal that did not include the ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy passed the Senate.

If the measure ultimately passes, Texas would be the 13th state to impose a ban on abortions after 20 weeks and by far the most populous. In addition, the legislation would set strict health standards for abortion clinics and restrict the use of drugs to end pregnancy.

Republican backers said the regulation of abortion clinics would protect women's health and that the ban on late-term abortions would protect fetuses, based on disputed research that suggests fetuses feel pain by 20 weeks of development.

Opponents said it would force nearly all Texas abortion clinics to close or be rebuilt. (Additional reporting by Eric Johnson; Editing by Dina Kyriakidou and Bob Burgdorfer)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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