**Update: In the end, Governor Perry called a second special session and HB2 was signed into law on July 18th. However the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, ACLU and Whole Women's Health announced on September 27th that they are filing a lawsuit against the bill. Read all the details here!
As part of my MPH program, all students have to complete a practicum and I am spending my summer working in Austin, Texas. This week I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to witness a historic, inspirational and important event.
On Tuesday June 25th, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis started a 13 hour filibuster to prevent SB 5 from passing during the Texas Legislature's Special Session. SB 5 is one of the most restrictive pieces of anti-choice legislation in the country, and would have dramatic repercussions on the state of reproductive rights in Texas. If passed, SB 5 would have banned abortions after 20 weeks, placed numerous regulations on abortion clinics causing 42 out of the 47 abortion clinics in Texas to close, effectively banned telemedicine abortions, and had no exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Friday, the threat of SB 5 resulted in an incredible "Citizens Filibuster" in the Texas State House, where over 700 Texans delayed the vote until 3:40 am with hours of moving and powerful testimony. With midnight on Tuesday marking the end of the Special Session, Texas Senator Wendy Davis continued this heroic attempt to prevent the passage of SB 5 by starting a 13 hour filibuster at 11:18 am.
When I finished work on Tuesday, I headed down to the Capitol to stand with Wendy Davis and support the fight for reproductive rights in Texas. Sitting in the gallery and listening to Wendy Davis' testimony was inspiring. By that point it was 5:30 pm and Wendy Davis had been filibusterting for six hours, with just under seven to go. While I was there her filibuster included testimony from Texas women on how this law would effect them; discussion of the harmful impact SB 5 would have on seeking emergency medical care for ectopic pregnancies and evidence from Texas ACOG regarding their opposition to the bill. She clearly explained the terrible impacts SB 5 would have on Texas women and passionately argued against the supporters of this bill that sought to drastically infringe on the reproductive rights of Texans.
The filibuster was also pure political theater. It was appalling to see the lengths at which the opposition tried to end the filibuster. I was in the chamber when Wendy Davis received her first point of order for ungermaneness for talking about Roe v. Wade, as well as the debacle surrounding the back brace. Listening to the Senators describe other filibusters and the parliamentary rules, it was clear that the opposition was grasping for any chance they could to undermine the filibuster and move forward with the bill. But there were also a lot of encouraging examples of camaraderie and support between the Senate Democrats as they worked to contest each point of order, and finally stall the filibuster when the third point of order was sustained.
Apart from Wendy Davis, my favorite thing about the filibuster was seeing the reproductive rights community in the halls of the Texas Capitol. There were hundreds of men and women in orange, mothers showing their children the importance of being politically engaged, and people of all ages standing with Wendy. And it wasn't only Texans. Over 160,000 people all over the nation were watching the live stream and organizations from across the country sent food to the Capitol that volunteers passed out to the people lining the halls. By 8:30 pm the line to get into the gallery was four stories high, the energy was intense and the passion was palpable.
Thankfully, SB 5 did not pass during this Special Session. In response to this, Lieutenant Dewhurst blamed "an unruly mob," but really, it was anything but that. The people who went to the Capitol on Tuesday were a passionate, organized and inspiring community pushing back and showing the power of civic engagement, solidarity and togetherness. Yes, they were angry but they have a right to be. All across the country state laws are chipping away at our reproductive rights and yet these laws do nothing to prevent unintended pregnancies but only seek to jeopardize access to necessary health care.
Governor Perry has already called another Special Session and in many ways the passage of some sort of abortion restriction bill seems inevitable. However, Wendy Davis' filibuster is still an extremely successful and important occurrence. At first glance, it shows that in many ways one person, like Wendy Davis, can make a difference. But more importantly, it shows that when a community comes together to stand for the things they believe in great things can happen. It was a privilege to be in Texas to witness this on Tuesday, but I also know things like this are possible all over the country and because of that, I am extremely grateful and proud to be a part of this amazing reproductive justice community.
As part of my MPH program, all students have to complete a practicum and I am spending my summer working in Austin, Texas. This week I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to witness a historic, inspirational and important event.
On Tuesday June 25th, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis started a 13 hour filibuster to prevent SB 5 from passing during the Texas Legislature's Special Session. SB 5 is one of the most restrictive pieces of anti-choice legislation in the country, and would have dramatic repercussions on the state of reproductive rights in Texas. If passed, SB 5 would have banned abortions after 20 weeks, placed numerous regulations on abortion clinics causing 42 out of the 47 abortion clinics in Texas to close, effectively banned telemedicine abortions, and had no exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Friday, the threat of SB 5 resulted in an incredible "Citizens Filibuster" in the Texas State House, where over 700 Texans delayed the vote until 3:40 am with hours of moving and powerful testimony. With midnight on Tuesday marking the end of the Special Session, Texas Senator Wendy Davis continued this heroic attempt to prevent the passage of SB 5 by starting a 13 hour filibuster at 11:18 am.
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| The Senate Gallery |
When I finished work on Tuesday, I headed down to the Capitol to stand with Wendy Davis and support the fight for reproductive rights in Texas. Sitting in the gallery and listening to Wendy Davis' testimony was inspiring. By that point it was 5:30 pm and Wendy Davis had been filibusterting for six hours, with just under seven to go. While I was there her filibuster included testimony from Texas women on how this law would effect them; discussion of the harmful impact SB 5 would have on seeking emergency medical care for ectopic pregnancies and evidence from Texas ACOG regarding their opposition to the bill. She clearly explained the terrible impacts SB 5 would have on Texas women and passionately argued against the supporters of this bill that sought to drastically infringe on the reproductive rights of Texans.
The filibuster was also pure political theater. It was appalling to see the lengths at which the opposition tried to end the filibuster. I was in the chamber when Wendy Davis received her first point of order for ungermaneness for talking about Roe v. Wade, as well as the debacle surrounding the back brace. Listening to the Senators describe other filibusters and the parliamentary rules, it was clear that the opposition was grasping for any chance they could to undermine the filibuster and move forward with the bill. But there were also a lot of encouraging examples of camaraderie and support between the Senate Democrats as they worked to contest each point of order, and finally stall the filibuster when the third point of order was sustained.
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| Wendy Davis in action! |
Thankfully, SB 5 did not pass during this Special Session. In response to this, Lieutenant Dewhurst blamed "an unruly mob," but really, it was anything but that. The people who went to the Capitol on Tuesday were a passionate, organized and inspiring community pushing back and showing the power of civic engagement, solidarity and togetherness. Yes, they were angry but they have a right to be. All across the country state laws are chipping away at our reproductive rights and yet these laws do nothing to prevent unintended pregnancies but only seek to jeopardize access to necessary health care.
Governor Perry has already called another Special Session and in many ways the passage of some sort of abortion restriction bill seems inevitable. However, Wendy Davis' filibuster is still an extremely successful and important occurrence. At first glance, it shows that in many ways one person, like Wendy Davis, can make a difference. But more importantly, it shows that when a community comes together to stand for the things they believe in great things can happen. It was a privilege to be in Texas to witness this on Tuesday, but I also know things like this are possible all over the country and because of that, I am extremely grateful and proud to be a part of this amazing reproductive justice community.
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| By 8:30 pm the line to get into the gallery was four stories high (fourth story not pictured) |
Thanks for your account of what happened, as well as for the pictures! Watching the online stream, you could only barely see the gallery and I wondered what that was like. In the last hour or so I was glued to my laptop and cheering on every parliamentary inquiry. So happy you were there - thanks for posting!
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