AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Texas Republicans have passed new abortion restrictions expected to close almost every abortion clinic in the nation’s second most populous state.
The Republican-controlled House voted for the bill while hundreds of protesters screamed from the gallery. The bill passed after the midnight deadline and because of that rule, the bill was killed sending Texas Governor Rick Perry and his supporters back to the drawing board.
Texas’ special legislative session ended at midnight, and Democrats spent most of the day filibustering the bill. Republicans cited rules to eventually force a vote to end the filibuster.
The bill would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and requires that all procedures take place in a surgical center.
Doctors who perform abortions would also need admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. The surgical center requirement would shut down 37 of Texas’ 42 abortion clinics.
