I have had a front-row seat for the past 6 weeks to the debate over what has eventually become House Bill 2 (HB2) in the Texas state legislature.

To a majority of the people outside of Texas and perhaps to a significant percentage in-state who are only paying marginal attention, the debate has been framed as two sides arguing over a late-term abortion bill.  This has been a masterful red herring by the Perry-Dewhurst administration, swallowed by some of the national press, because a majority of the country is against "late-term abortions", even though that definition is a very loose one.

Problem is, that's not what the protests have been about.  Had this bill been simply about reducing the period to obtain a legal abortion in Texas from 24 weeks to 20 weeks you would not have seen the level of protests nor the passion.  There would have been no Special Legislative Session nor a second one.  (Texas lawmakers only meet every 2 years for a maximum of 140 days, but the Governor can call a 30-day Special Session if he/she believes there is legislation that is too important to wait.)

A SUMMARY IF YOU DON'T WISH TO READ DETAILS
Framed by the administration and the bill's authors as a bill to restrict late-term abortions, and secondarily at 20 weeks because this is the (wholly unproven) point where fetuses feel pain.  The real aim of this bill, though, is to shut down any clinic providing abortions, by adding onerous restrictions that they hoped they could bury sufficiently so that the media or the public would not notice the details, which would have allowed it to be ramrodded through by the Republican majority in both chambers.  And they were almost successful until being out-maneuvered by the Democrats in the Senate, which allowed enough time for public opposition in Texas to be organized.

The proponents of the bill then shifted gears to try and frame it as protecting women's health, a dubious argument when it would shut down clinics across the state, not only leaving few options for abortions but also shuttering dozens of clinics that provide the only care facilities for hundreds of miles around.

In short, this has not been a fight over late-term abortions.  This has been a fight over an attempt to eliminate abortions without regard for the consequences.

WHAT'S IN THE BILL
No abortions can legally be performed in Texas after 20 weeks.  The method of calculation is also altered to start at date of fertilization (most of the time this is a guess, of course) instead of the typical method of going forward 7 days from the last menstrual period.  The stated reasoning for this is because of a supposition that the fetus "feels pain" beyond 20 weeks.

All abortions must be administered by a doctor who has "admitting privileges" at a hospital no more than 30 miles away.

All facilities where abortions are performed must be brought up to Ambulatory Surgical Center, or ASC, standards.  This includes the following: men's and women's locker rooms, hallways wide enough for gurneys to turn around, a boiler room, a centrifuge, a pharmacy staffed by licensed pharmacists, and an on-staff janitor and janitor's closet.

If the drug RU486 is to be administered to induce abortion, it must be taken in the presence of a doctor with admitting privileges at a local hospital, as must the follow-up dosage 48 hours later.

WHAT'S NOT IN THE BILL
Any exceptions.  Health of the mother is endangered?  Too bad once you pass 20 weeks.  A 12-year old impregnated by her uncle?  Should have spoken up sooner.  A women raped by her boss?  Same.  The baby is going to be badly deformed, will die soon after birth, or is already dead?  Tough it out and carry it to term.

Any funding for contraception usage.

Any increase or even mention of counseling support.

Any increased funding or even moving of funds towards strengthening or encouraging adoption.

Any requirement or strengthening of sex education.


THE HOOPS
This bill did not survive in the regular legislative session.  So Governor Rick Perry called a "special session" of 30 days, which he has the right to do, and changed all Senate votes from the normal 2/3 majority to a simply majority, which mystically he also has the right to do.  The bill's opponents successfully galvanized the public to demonstrate and voice their opposition, which delayed a vote long enough to lead to the event that sparked a more national interest, when Senator Wendy Davis successfully fillibustered the bill long enough to allow the clock to run out on the Special Session.  (It's a bit more complex than that, but that's the gist of what occurred.)

Rick Perry, wanting to burnish his conservative credentials for another run at the Presidency, immediately called a 2nd Special Session to attempt to ramrod the bill through again. In this session, the renamed bill was pushed through at the front of the session to ensure that there would be no last-minute parliamentary procedures to delay it.

Part of the Republican strategy was to not accept any amendments to the bill, as this would cause a 48-hour delay because it would be required to be kicked back to the other chamber (in this case the House) for debate.  Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, accepted no amendments.  None for rape and incest exceptions.  None for when the mother's life was in danger.  None for a baby that would be born unviable or stillborn.

INTIMIDATION, INFLATION, AND OTHER UNDERHANDED TACTICS

This is a long series of dirty tricks by the Republicans.

Ending the Citizen's Filibuster
Texas law allows for a Citizen's Filibuster.  This essentially allows individuals the forum to get up and speak against (or for) a particular bill.  While each citizen is limited to 3 minutes of time, there is no limit to the number of citizens who can speak.  They are required to be a resident of Texas or the district where the bill we take affect if it's not statewide.  Over 700 people registered to speak against the bill.   But the Republican-led State Affairs Committee voted to cessate the filibuster.  (This will undoubtedly be one of the upcoming legal challenges.)  And this breach of protocol at best and law at worst is what led Wendy Davis to declare that she would personally filibuster the bill.

Questionable Procedural Ethics
During Wendy Davis's filibuster, Senate Republicans broke from traditional decorum to do anything they could to find technical reasons to end her filibuster.  There is a 3 strike rule, and the first strike was given when she mentioned Planned Parenthood's budget for not being germane to the conversation.  About abortion.  Yes, they were serious.

The second strike came she was trying to adjust a back brace she had worn. (Senate filibuster rules say that you must stand, cannot lean on anything for support, cannot eat, drink, or leave chambers)  The strike came when Senator Royce West helped her adjust the brace when it appeared she was having difficulty.

When she mentioned the previously passed Sonogram law the majority Republicans ruled she had violated "germaneness" rules and had strayed too far from the topic at hand, ending her filibuster.  In case you're not familar with the Sonogram law, it requires every woman seeking an abortion to first submit to a sonogram at least 24 hours prior to the abortion, and then to be forced to listen to the heartbeat (if there is one) and be shown displays of the embryo/fetus.  Yes, this was considered off topic to even mention when discussing abortion.  What it really was: a thinly-veiled and underhanded attempt to push Senator Davis off the floor so they could sneak in a vote before midnight, when the Special Session was mandated to end.

Senate Democrats fought this in chambers, but finally at about 11:45pm they had run out of options.  And that's when the citizens opposed to the bill who were seated in the Senate gallery took over.  Fed up with the underhandedness of the Republicans, they spontaneously made as much noise as they possibly could, ultimately making it impossible for a vote to be taken because no one on the floor could here.

Manipulating the Vote
Republicans managed to tabulate a vote by walking around the floor from member to member, but it took too long and the vote was tabulated after midnight.  Incredibly, with the procedures being live-streamed and observed by over 800,000 people, they manually changed the time stamp on the vote to reflect it as occurring before the midnight deadline.  No surprise, this was caught immediately and reported to media outlets just as quickly.  The Republicans were forced to rescind the vote.  (Although never apologizing or actually confessing that they had done this purposefully.)

2nd Special Session
Governor Perry now called for a 2nd Special Session.  Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst, smarting from his failure to pass the bill in the 1st SS, now made it priority.

Why Stick to Texas Voters?
But now the bill's opponents in the State had become educated, angry, and organized.  A rally was held on the State capitol's steps the day the 2nd SS opened.  Over 5000 were on hand to support the effort.  Anti-abortion groups were now trying to martial their troops and attempted to organize supporters to come to capitol for a counter-protest.  Their numbers were awful by comparison, measuring in the low 100s.

The anti-choice groups decided that they needed to take more drastic action and began organizing church groups from outside of Texas to attend every event.  Slowly, their numbers grew so that at each event they were closer and closer to making the numbers appear equal.  But these were not largely Texas residents, but people who were zealots from elsewhere, some being paid to attend by being given places to stay, meals, and free transportation.  Bear that in mind with any video you may see.

Capitol Police Intimidation
Possibly the most heinous aspect of all was the behavior of the Capitol Police force.  In all probability they were being directed to take the following actions by the Administration. (Perry and Dewhurst both referred to the bill's opponents as an "unruly mob" even though there had been no incidents.)  These tactics included:

-showing up to all rallies in riot gear
-creating lines of troopers on horses (also in riot gear)
-purposely not putting bags on the horses so they would defecate in the middle of rallies and leave the piles
-removing people from the gallery for breaking all sorts of rules (like talking).  Of course, only opponents of the bill.  There's not a single report of a "blue shirt" being removed.

-And the most heinous: confiscating tampons and feminine pads the day that the vote was to be taken.  The first reports were that some people had tried to bring jars of feces and urine, so the response was to confiscate anything that could be thrown.  The Texas Tribune was the first to report that there had been no such jars.  Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin) convinced the DPS (Department of Public Safety) to cease the confiscations.

Further irony here: concealed weapons (guns) were allowed in chambers.  You can't make this up.

BOTTOM LINE
Despite what most of the media is sadly reporting, this bill is NOT about limiting legal abortions in Texas to 20 weeks, nor are the protests focused on that.  This is about forcing clinics to close, no matter what the fallout.  Regardless of your stance on abortion, remember that.  Understand that this will severely reduce the health options of women in much of Texas, not just those seeking abortions.  Republicans have gone so far off the rails they don't care who they hurt, so long as they can destroy Planned Parenthood.

Anything else is a red herring, which is exactly what the Republicans want you to focus on.