Dish-Houston

The Texas abortion bill, SB5, failed to pass the state senate on Tuesday night. While reports have said that a vote on the bill did take place, Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst confirmed early Wednesday morning that the bill was dead.

The legislation’s debate was marked by a filibuster launched by Senator Wendy Davis, a Democrat, who wore pink tennis shoes and prepared for the long haul. She filibustered for over 11 hours without food or bathroom breaks. 

While her filibuster failed to make it to midnight after she received three strikes, the watching crowd chanted and cheered until after midnight. The noise interrupted the proceedings on the floor, causing the vote on SB5 to happen after the midnight deadline.

If it had passed, the bill would have required sweeping changes in how abortion services work in Texas. In effect, the bill would have closed about 80 percent of the abortion clinics currently operating in the nation’s second most populous state.

While the Texas senate session was scheduled to end at midnight, confusion reigned for three hours over what had actually happened. News organizations, including the Associated Press, announced that SB5 passed in Texas, despite Davis’ filibuster and what some users on Twitter called the peoples’ filibuster.

Official confirmation was given on the bill’s status at 3:03 am. At that time, Lt. Governor Dewhurst announced that, while the bill had passed, it was too late. While the abortion services bill was declared dead early Wednesday morning. In response Governor Rick Perry has called another special session for July 1, 2013 to bring this issue up again. 

Until then, Democrats and pro-choicers declared a momentary victory. On Twitter, Planned Parenthood Federation Of America president Cecile Richards wrote,

“We have started something here that they cannot stop.”

A tweet from @YourAnonLive also chimed in, saying,

“The citizens overrode the Texas Senate with their voices. Tonight we proved who really has the power.”

 

HOUSTON!!! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!! It's been a problem for years. For whatever reason we don't feel the need to keep anything historical or beautiful. We rarely repurpose anything and more over getting anyone to recycle is like asking them if they'd rather have their toe nails pulled out or have surgery while awake. Neither of which anyone in their right mind would choose. It's really NOT that difficult to choose to keep history and the tired old argument of it's cheaper to build new is CRAP! The price to demolish may be less expensive but the building of the new structure never is. The building was designed by architect Kenneth Franzheim who is responsible for the original Foley's building downtown (Now Macy's) and two other buildings in downtown Houston. It officially opened for business in 1941 and was the 5th home for the downtown YMCA.

Now, the property is owned by Chevron who has decided it needed more space and something historical and beautiful that added to the character and history of this amazing city we call home was unnecessary and useless to it's plans for being what it chooses to be which clearly is typical "I can pee farther than you can" tall, glass, ugly, with no historical value type building which is no doubt what is coming.

We as Houstonians should be outraged that we let this happen. How can we continue to sit back and let our history just fall away? CHEVERON....You're on notice!