UPDATE: 1:20 a.m. ET:
With about 15 minutes left until the midnight deadline and Republicans moving to call a vote on the bill, Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte asked, “At what point must a female Senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?”
Her comment moved the gallery crowd to spontaneous applause that continued well after midnight.
As the gallery erupted into chaos, it was unclear whether the bill had passed. Republicans said that the roll call counted and that the legislature approved the abortion bill. Democrats maintained that the vote didn't count.
Whitmire says Senate timestamp shows #SB5 vote began at 12:02, that legal? "No it's not" #txlege
— Becca Aaronson (@becca_aa) June 26, 2013
The official Senate computer says there was a vote, 17-12 to pass #SB5 - Dems say it was after midnight, @cltomlinson reports
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 26, 2013
Check here for updates.
ORIGINAL POST:
Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, has begun her planned 13-hour filibuster of a controversial bill that would effectively shut down 37 of the state's 42 abortion clinics.
Davis only needs to remain standing and speaking until midnight local time when the chamber's special session will come to a close, according to Slate. Supporters can ask questions to allow her to rest.
“You can imagine, or maybe you can’t, that a woman can be told that her feelings on these issues, that if she can’t fit into every one of the square pegs she’s being asked to fit into by this bill she’s not going to be able to exercise her constitutional right,” Davis told her colleagues about three hours before midnight.
“What’s disturbing is we don’t seem to care, and maybe that is because so many of us on this floor don’t have the equipment, but I’ve got it and my daughters have it and women who I don’t know have it,” she added.
[Live stream via Texas Tribune]
