Abortion bill battle comes to near blows on House floor

AUSTIN -- Two Texas Republican lawmakers nearly got into a fist fight on the state House floor late Sunday night after a priority of anti-abortion activists surprisingly failed to make it onto the calendar ahead of a key deadline.

Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, got in the face of Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, at around 9:30 p.m., shortly after Senate Bill 575 died in the last pre-deadline Calendars Committee meeting on a 7-7 vote.

Three Republicans -- Reps. Sarah Davis, Debbie Riddle and Patricia Harless -- joined with minority Democrats to oppose the bill, which would ban health insurance plans in the state from covering abortion.

"You gave me your word!" Stickland yelled at Cook during a brief confrontation that was broken up by security officers.

Cook explained afterward that Stickland thought Cook had violated a deal the two had struck earlier in the day.

Stickland had agreed to drop another anti-abortion proposal, which would eliminate an exception allowing late-term abortions if the fetus is found to have a severe fetal abnormality that could make survival unlikely. In return, he had been promised movement on Senate Bill 575.

But Cook said he never promised the bill would actually pass, only that it would get a vote in the Calendars Committee.

"My commitment was to get the bill to Calendars," said Cook, who added that he voted for the bill in the committee. "What I can't do is interfere with other members' ability to vote their conscience."

Stickland, a tea party favorite, has fought repeatedly with the more mainstream House leadership during this year's legislative session. One such fight, over alleged tampering with a list of supporters of his bill, has led to a Department of Public Safety investigation.

After the altercation with Cook, Stickland was seen talking heatedly with other members of leadership, as well as Davis, Riddle and Harless. He was not immediately available for comment.