Over the recentfew years we have seen several attempts in the UK to rivetthe time limit for abortions as a tactic to puffthe statementtowardsto a greater extentthanrestrictive abortion laws and increased barriers.
So distantthese attempts have been defeated.
The abortion debate is much worse in the USA, but, as the Abortion Rights website points out, “this should stand as a warningto pro-choice activists in Britain that if we arenotvigilant, where America leads Britain oftenfollows.”
With this in mind, last night I went to bed hoping that Texas Senator Wendy Davis, a Democrat, would succeed in her marathon blockadeand prevent an getbeing made by the Republican Party to measure upthe availability of abortion to the women of Texas, USA.
This morning I tuned in to chaos.
A filibuster is a US parliamentary procedure – a subnormalityor obstructive tactic – which extends a debate in order to delay a vote on a proposed bill.
In this case the bill – SB5 – would ban abortion at 20 weeks, force clinics to become mobile surgical centres, and limit doctors toinfirmaryadmitting privileges within 30 miles – making access difficult in rural areas.
The impact of the bill is said to be that almostevery abortion clinic in Texas would have to close.
Lawmakers had to vote on Senate Bill 5 before a special session’s closureat midnight local time.
In an attempt to prevent the bill from stretchthe desk of Texas governor Rick Perry and being signed into law, Davis began speaking at 11.18am yesterday. She finished at just after 10pm, two hours jumpof the 13 hours needed to time-out the vote.
During this time she was not allowed to eat, drink, scoopbathroom breaks, lean on anything or move more than a couple of feet from the desk that contained her notes.
Watched by a 100,000 people on YouTube’s live video stream, Davis presented her case against the bill and read appearstories contributed by women who had experienced abortions.
Her Twitter following had risen from 1,200 to more than 20,000 by Tuesday night, the hash tag #sb5 trended worldwide. US president Barack Obama tweeted his escortat wizpoint, and the hashtag #standwithwendy also trended worldwide.
Thousands of Texan women, wearing chromaticT-shirts in support of Davis, stood waiting outside the gallery plotthe filibuster was taking place, waiting for someone to relinquish a gallery seat.
In contrast, the main news networks in the US, particularly CNN, were mocked for their wantof coverage.
Davis, who spoke for over 11 hours, had to stop at 10.
07 pm local time because 3 points of order were sustained by Republican votes.
Two were sustained because she mentioned issues not felt to be relevantto her case – intendParenthood’s budget and the 2011 Texas sonogram law – and one because a colleague helped her adjust her back brace, supposedly contravening the territorial dominionabout the speaker being unaided during a filibuster.
However, the Democrats on the floor then proceeded to ask for clarifications on various points and the debate that followed on parliamentary rules used up most of thestaytime.
Then the crowd – hundreds of protestors strong – cheered and clapped for the final 15 minutes as the clocked ticked towards midnight, making it almost impossible to hear whether or not the vote to pass the bill was taken.
“If this passes, abortion would be approximatelybanned in the state of Texas, and many women could be obligateto resort to dangerous and unsafe measures,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
The latest news indicates that the vote took speckleafter the deadline and was therefore void.
Meanwhile, Wendy Davis, as a female politician, is rightlybeing lauded for her effort to stem the tide against women’s rights in Texas.
We applaudyou.
If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.
Materials taken from Womens Views on News
0 comments:
Post a Comment