The Abortion Debate, Texas Style

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http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/sexandgender/7192/the_abortion_debate__texas_style/

July 10, 2013
An activist reports on the scene at the Texas State Capitol, and on an unexpected vision of civic harmony.

By DHAWN MARTIN


Protesters gather outside the Senate Gallery minutes before midnight to stall Senate Bill 5, a bill that would put strict regulations on abortion facilities, from going to a vote at the Texas State Capitol. Photo by Lauren Gerson via Flickr.

Editor's Note: As this story goes to press, Texas House Republicans have passed SB1 in a vote that followed party lines. The bill will now go to the Senate.

On Monday, July 8th, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services (HHS) of the Texas Legislature heard more than 13 hours of testimony regarding SB1 (Senate Bill 1), a bill designed to “regulat[e]…abortion procedures, providers, and facilities.”

These regulations, which include mandates that abortion providers have hospital admitting privileges and that abortion facilities meet the “standards…for ambulatory surgical centers,” could result in the shutdown of a majority of clinics that offer abortion and health services to women.

During Monday’s official proceedings, tears and confessions, facts and statistics, blatant propaganda and earnest pleas, punctuated testimonies offered on both sides of the bill. Unofficial proceedings turned the Capitol’s open-air rotunda into a public forum.

One activist pronounced pro-life the “truly Christian” stance; another expressed dismay that “‘they’ always paint ‘us’ as godless.” All the while a man walked about the rotunda bearing a notebook-sized sign with the word “theocracy” crossed out.

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