Texas Gov. Rick Perry calls special legislative session for Monday, as GOP lawmakers plan to reduce Wendy Davis' abortion filibuster to a symbolic gesture



Wendy Davis stayed on her feet for a half-day on Tuesday, hoping to run out the clock on the Texas legislative session before Republicans could vote to enact a tough new abortion law. That effort ended in a chaotic squabble over House rules, but no new pro-life law.

Now Gov. Rick Perry of presidential campaign 'Oops' fame has reached into his bag of tricks and found something unusual: a do-over.

Perry used his executive power on Wednesday to call for a second special session of the legislature in order to re-open debate on the abortion law, which opponents say could force the closure of most abortion providers in the state.

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Fort Worth, Texas Democratic state Senator Wendy Davis (L) pulled off a Rand Paul-style filibuster of a bill that would restrict access to abortions. Gov. Rick Perry (R) has decided to give GOP lawmakers more time



Other forms of support: Abortion-rights activists packed the Texas Senate gallery and objected loudly when Davis' Tuesday night filibuster was ended over a string of three rules violations

A regular session of the Texas State Legislature is constitutionally limited to no more than 140 calendar days, and only in odd-numbered years. That ran out on May 27.

But Perry called lawmakers back to Austin for an extra 30 days, which ended on Tuesday night, to consider a short list of bills including a redistricting plan for federal officers, a lit of transportation infrastructure projects, a proposed mandatory life sentence for capital murders committed by 17-year-olds, and the abortion bill.

When the clock struck midnight and Tuesday became Wednesday, Republicans' last chance to pass new abortion restrictions vanished -- technically speaking -- until January 2015.

But Perry's announcement means they will get a third bite at the apple, including more time for the other issues that occupied the first special session. The Texas governor is permitted to call as many special sessions as he wishes, and to set the legislative agenda for the extra days.



'I am calling the Legislature back into session because too much important work remains undone for the people of Texas ' Perry said Wednesday afternoon in a statement.

Its gotta be the shoes: Davis wore running sneakers on the Senate floor to help her stand for a half-day without losing focus or taking a bathroom break

' Through their duly elected representatives, the citizens of our state have made crystal clear their priorities for our great state. Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn. Texans want a transportation system that keeps them moving. Texans want a court system that is fair and just. We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do.'



Davis' short-lived success did manage to stall the proceedings long enough to bring the legislative calendar to a close.



She aimed to monopolize the legislative floor for the final 13 hours, but made it to the 10-hour, 45-minute mark. Her filibuster ended after Republicans determined she had violated the rules by changing the subject of discussion, and by accepting the help of a back brace to help her remain standing.

Then, with hundreds of abortion-rights activists ringing the capitol rotunda and occasionally shouting down the GOP majority, Republican leaders sought to finish a vote before midnight.

Lieutenant Gov. David Dewhurst ultimately found that his own party took two minutes too long, dooming the bill. He blamed the protesters for the distractions that consumed those final minutes.

'An unruly mob, using Occupy Wall Street tactics, disrupted the Senate from protecting unborn babies,' he told the Austin American-Statesman .

Small victory? Though Davis' fame may be lasting her victory will likely not be. He's called for a July 1 special session to push the bill through

The proposal, Senate Bill 5, would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. It would also require a physician conducting an abortion to have privileges to practice medicine at a hospital nearby that offers gynecological or obstetric care.

Supporters call those restrictions reasonable, and in keeping with the pro-life tenor of a majority of Texans.

But opponents, many wearing orange shirts and holding wire coat hangers -- a reference to the unusual but iconic practice, before the Supreme Court legalized abortions in Roe v. Wade, of inducing abortions with hangers inserted into the uterus through the cervix.

Despite the rarity of self-induced abortions, the hanger remains a powerful symbol of the pro-abortion movement's stated desire to prevent unregulated pregnancy terminations that risk women's lives.