Senator filibusters against abortion bill

AUSTIN, Texas (AP):

Wearing pink tennis shoes to prepare for nearly 13 consecutive hours of standing, a Democratic Texas state senator on yesterday began a one-woman filibuster to block a GOP-led effort that would impose stringent new abortion restrictions across the nation's second-most populous state.

Senator Wendy Davis, 50, of Fort Worth, began the filibuster at 11:18 a.m. CDT yesterday. To derail a vote in the GOP-dominated Senate, she was supposed to keep speaking on the bill up to midnight, last night, the deadline for the end of the 30-day special session.

Before Davis began speaking, her chair was removed. Rules stipulate she remain standing, not lean on her desk, or take any breaks - even for meals or to use the bathroom.

'Raw abuse of power'

When combined in a state 773 miles wide and 790 miles long and with 26 million people, the measures would close almost every abortion clinic in Texas. A woman living along the Mexico border or in West Texas would have to drive hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion if the law passes.

In her opening remarks, Davis said she was "rising on the floor today to humbly give voice to thousands of Texans" and called Republican efforts to pass the bill a "raw abuse of power".

If the filibuster succeeds, it could also take down other measures. A proposal to fund major transportation projects as well as a bill to have Texas more closely conform with a recent United States Supreme Court decision banning mandatory sentences of life in prison without parole for offenders younger than 18 might not get votes. Current state law only allows a life sentence without parole for 17-year-olds convicted of capital murder.