On this date, June 18, 2013, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed into law, Texas Senate Bill 5. I will post information from Wikipedia and another news source about this Pro-Life Bill.
 |
An illustration of Texas on Senator Bill 5 [PHOTO SOURCE: http://mountiewire.com/senator-wendy-davis-fillibusters-abortion-bill/] |
INTERNET SOURCE:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Senate_Bill_5
Texas Senate Bill 5 (or Texas SB 5) is a bill that was created on June 11, 2013, and was discussed during the First Special Session of the Eighty-third Texas Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry on July 18, 2013.
Bill content
Texas Senate Bill 5 is a list of measures that would add and update abortion regulations in Texas. These measures include a ban on abortion at 20 weeks post-fertilization and recognize that the state has a compelling interest to protect fetuses from pain. The bill would mandate that a doctor who performs abortions have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and to require that clinics meet the same standards as other surgical health-care facilities in the state. Another provision would require oversight of women taking abortion-inducing drugs such as RU-486. The bill would not apply to abortions necessary to save the mother's life or to prevent permanent bodily damage from a pregnancy.
History
First Special Session
On June 25, 2013, Senator Wendy Davisbegan a filibuster in attempt to block the bill by maintaining the floor until midnight, when the Senate's special session ended, after which the state Senate would no longer be able to vote on the measure. After ten hours, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst ruled that Davis had gone off topic after Davis began talking about a sonogram bill, forcing a vote on whether the filibuster could continue. Despite efforts to pass the bill, parliamentary enquiries from Leticia R. Van de Putte and other senators, as well as disruption from the gallery caused the session to go on through midnight, the official closure of the special session. Following the deadline, Republicans indicated that a vote had taken place and passed 19–11, while Democrats declared that the vote had taken place after midnight, making the vote void. Dewhurst later conceded that the bill was passed after the deadline and was considered dead.
Timestamp issue
After the bill was thought to have been passed, a record was added to the official web page on the history of the bill. According to the page, the timestamp of the bill's passage was listed as the 26th. Later, the page was taken down and altered to say that the bill was passed on the 25th. According to Texas Penal Code, Section 37.10, it is a crime to make an alteration that is false in a government document or record. According to the Legislative Reference Library of Texas the Texas Legislature Online system "... is not the official record of those actions, and [the Legislative Reference Library staff] enters actions on TLO as a public service independently of the officers of the house or senate." The Public Integrity Unit has begun an investigation into the events after receiving complaints.
Second Special Session
On the 26th, Governor Rick Perry added the bill as part of three bills in a second special session, with the name Senate Bill 2. Perry stated that it was due to the "[...] breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do."
The second session began on July 1, with supporters and opponents of the bill showing up in large crowds at the Texas Legislative building while wearing blue or orange shirts in support of their side.
The Texas House passed the bill on July 10, 2013, by a 96–49 margin and sent the measure to the Texas Senate.
The Texas Senate passed the bill on July 13, 2013 with a bipartisan vote with a 19-11 margin. The bill was signed by Gov. Rick Perry on July 18, 2013.
The bill was eventually passed by both the House and the Senate in the July 2013 second special session and was signed by Gov. Rick Perry, prompting one commentator to state that "Wendy Davis won the battle, but Rick Perry won the war."
 |
Billy Joe and Tuesday's controversial placard, that went viral on the net. |
Public response
Organizations and people on both sides used websites like Twitter and the Texas Tribune to share their side and learn more, with several hashtags becoming popular on Twitter. Coverage and a livestream of the Texas Legislature by the Texas Tribune has been said to have been the reason that the bill became national, and later international, news.
Images of the placard carried by pro-choice activists Billy Joe Cain, his daughter Tuesday, with the message "JESUS isn't a DICK; so keep him OUT of MY VAGINA!" went viral, the resultant controversy was reported nationally and internationally.
Debate
Many people who are against the bill have opposed the requirement that would force clinics to follow the same standards as surgical centers, since it could lead to the closure of the clinics and result in large areas of the state to not have access to a clinic. Supporters of the legislation have stated that the purpose of the new law is to protect women’s health and unborn children, citing precedents like the recent Kermit Gosnell case.
Abortion access in the state of Texas has seen a serious decline since the passage of Senate bill 5. There were 44 facilities that performed abortions in Texas in 2011, When the law is fully implemented in September, that number is expected to drop to six. Amy Hagstrom Miller, the chief executive of Whole Woman’s Health, which has challenged provisions of the law in court. "I tried everything I can. I just can’t keep the doors open.”
 |
Things to Know About Senate Bill 5 [PHOTO SOURCE: http://joshfults.com/2013/06/27/things-to-know-about-senate-bill-5/] |
Things to Know About Senate Bill 5
On June 25, Senate Bill 5 was under consideration for legislature in the state of Texas. The bill would require that all abortion clinics be certified as ambulatory surgical centers and would not allow abortions to be performed after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Democratic Senator, Wendy Davis, had other plans. She filibustered the bill and delivered a 10 hour speech in hopes of delaying the vote. The bill was eventually voted on, amidst the chaotic circus of protesters, and passed, but it occurred after midnight and was rendered null. On June 26, Governor Rick Perry called for a special session on July 1st to reconsider the bill.
It is important for us to take into consideration the importance and dramatic scope of Senate Bill 5, for if it passes dramatic changes will take place involving how abortion services are delivered in the state of Texas. The passing of the bill would mean the closing of roughly 80% of abortion clinics in the second most populated state in the union! There are approximately 215 abortions performed daily in Texas. What would that number look like if Senate Bill 5 passes? How many lives will be spared from premature obliteration under surgical blades and suction hoses?
I hold to the view that life begins at the moment of conception and believe that abortion is a moral evil regardless of when it is performed. I stand firmly on the substance view of human personhood, which states that every organism is a substance of a particular kind of being that undergoes changes, but these changes do not affect what they are essentially. Many try to delineate when exactly life begins based on many different criteria. In other words, they may speculate that life begins when the fetus reaches certain development milestones such as cognizance or sentience. Yet, just because a human cannot exhibit all of it’s capacities all the time through life does not mean it is not a full-fledged human being! This is the idea behind the substance view of personhood.
When it comes to abortion, the argument about when life begins has become largely moot because many pro-choice advocates agree that the unborn child is alive. The issue has become that of autonomy and personal liberty. Many in favor of abortion view their right to personal liberty as taking precedence over the child’s right to life, which is completely absurd. One person’s freedom to choose overrides the unborn person’s right to live.
The question I would like to pose, is why shouldn’t late term abortions (after 20 weeks) be abolished? It has been well documented that babies in late term abortion feel pain, possibly as early as 6-8 weeks gestation. Many will argue, well drugs are administered to send the child into cardiac arrest so the surgical procedure is not felt, yet, who says that being sent into cardiac arrest is not painful? I personally have no desire to see what it feels like, but I have spoken to some that say it is not pleasant, to say the least. Why wouldn’t we want to stop late term abortions if they potentially cause the unborn to experience even the slightest amount of anguish? Is it not humane to refrain from doing so? Yet, the real issue at hand is the closing of so many abortion clinics across the state. It appears that the pro-choice advocates are more concerned about availability than the potential pain it might inflict on the unborn. It would also make sense that these procedures should take place at surgical centers. We wouldn’t want women having abortions at chop shops, butcher houses, or in coat hanger closets would we? Why not pass this legislation? Because it would bottleneck the availability of abortions, that’s why.
We should also be reminded of what late term abortions look like. One must consider the development level the unborn has reached at this juncture. Francis Beckwith states that at 13 weeks the child can “kick his legs, turn his feet, curl his toes, make a fist, suck his thumb, bend his wrist, turn his head, frown, open his mouth, press his lips tightly together. He drinks amniotic fluid.” Then he says at 22 weeks, “He is now about a foot tall, weighs one pound. Fine baby hair begins to grow on his eye brows and head. He sleeps and wakes just as he will after birth.” If that sounds all too human, it is because it is human. This is the point of development reached by a child when late term abortions are performed.
Recently, the highly credentialed, Dr. Anthony Levatino, a former abortionist who is now pro-life, described late term abortion procedures in explicit detail. He was testifying in support of a bill that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks nationwide. The procedure he describes is known as “Suction D&E”. In his testimony, he placed in display the primary instrument used to extract the fetus called a Sopher clamp. He states, “This instrument is for grasping and crushing tissue. When it gets hold of something, it does not let go.” He continues, “Once you have grasped something inside, squeeze on the clamp to set the jaws and pull hard – really hard…You feel something let go and out pops a fully formed leg about six inches long. Reach in again and grasp whatever you can. Set the jaw and pull really hard once again and out pops an arm about the same length. Reach in again and again with that clamp and tear out the spine, intestines, heart and lungs.” He laments that the most difficult part is removing the head. “You will know you have it right when you crush down on the clamp and see white gelatinous material coming through the cervix. That was the baby’s brains. You can then extract the skull pieces. Many times a little face will come out and stare back at you.
There have been 57 million legally induced abortions within the United States since 1973. Lets pray that Senate Bill 5 passes. It will save the lives of some, though the many will be killed.
Every life matters. Let’s weep with the 57 million that never experienced all that life offers. Let’s pray for legislation to be enacted that speaks for those without a voice. Let’s create a culture of life.
Walk good. Live wise. Be blessed.
Josh
OTHER LINKS: