Pro-Life, Pro-Choice Rallies Kick Off 2nd Special Session
AUSTIN (CBS 11 NEWS) - Thousands of pro-choice activists converged on the South steps and lawn of the State Capitol Monday.
During a rally, they chanted "Women will not be bullied. Women will not be bullied."
It's all part of a Texas-sized political showdown.
Cecile Richards, who leads Planned Parenthood told the crowd, "We're here to fight a series of bills that would take us back decades, and to say we aren't going."
Inside the Capitol, a smaller crowd of right to life activists, but no less intense.
People like Noel Adams say they support banning abortions after 20 weeks, and tougher standards for abortion providers.
Adams is a mother of ten who is pregnant with her 11th child and is due in November.
She says, "We're a quieter group, the pro-lifers are. A lot of us have tape on and that's because it's to show it's for Americans who can't speak for their own freedom. The babies. And we're here because we stand for them."
The pro-choice crowd gave Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis a hero's welcome, as they chanted her name.
Senator Davis of Fort Worth has become the face of the pro-choice movement inside the Capitol.
It was her 11 hour filibuster last week that helped defeat the abortion bill.
She says she believes Republicans will likely pass the measure this time, but still tried to boost those here. "I know a great number of us have felt discouraged by the state of affairs. Some of us felt mad too, but today is different. Don't you feel it? We feel hope."
Republicans like Senator Dan Patrick of Houston criticized his party's leadership for what happened last week. "When you have 30 days and four bills to pass, and three are in the last 12 hours, it speaks for itself."
After what happened last week, Patrick announced he's running for Lieutenant Governor, becoming the third Republican to challenge Dewhurst for the job.
State Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson are also running.
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