I Stand with Wendy Davis

At this moment a Texas woman named Wendy Davis is attempting to hold the floor of the state senate in a filibuster to prevent the latest anti-abortion idiocy from becoming law.


Here's Rachel Maddow for the background.

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In the segment, there's a clip of this moron, sponsor of the bill, mind, Jodie Laubenberg explaining why a rape/incest exception is not needed in this new law.

Amid a heated debate over a restrictive anti-abortion bill being pushed by Texas GOP lawmakers, one Republican argued that a proposed exemption for rape victims was unnecessary because assaulted women could simply turn to rape kits for abortions. "In the emergency room they have what’s called rape kits, where a woman can get cleaned out," said state Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R), sponsor of the controversial SB 5, according to The Associated Press.

Senator Davis has already been speaking for about two hours. She's got to make it to midnight and follow these rules, including:

Rule 4.01 requires a member of the Senate to stand at his or her desk to address the Senate. The member speaking may not sit, lean, or use a desk or chair in any way. Bathroom breaks are not allowed.

RAPEublicans have the majority in both the House and Senate. This is a 'special session' called by the governor, who can, of course, call another one to get this critical legislation passed. But what's going on right now is exhilarating to watch. Here's the live feed of the filibuster. When I last checked, she was reading the testimony of women who wanted to speak before the committee last week but who got cut off by some RAPEpublican dude because he was bored by it. If you want to follow on Twitter, Senator Davis's handle is @WendyDavisTexas and some hashtags are #SB5 (Senate Bill 5), #txlege, and #feministarmy. (Blogger is screwing up my paragraph breaks. I'll try to fix it later.)

Mandos adds: Wendy Davis runs out the clock and kills the bill.

FURTHER UPDATE: Of course he would. Governor Good Hair calls another special session. Note that in such *special* sessions, a simple majority, rather than the 2/3s of the Senate in regular sessions, is enough to ram through legislation.