If Wendy Davis’ goal was to turn Texas Blue, then for one day she was successful, as the Texas Capitol was flooded with a sea of Pro-Life advocates dressed in blue to show their unified support for HB2.

The Republican Party of Texas would like to thank our legislators who support the pro-life plank in the party platform, especially Representative Jodie Laubenberg, the bill author in the House, and Senator Glenn Hegar, the Senate author. We also would like to thank all of the bill supporters who traveled across the state to testify in support of the legislation, which improves safety standards in Texas women’s clinics and bans abortion procedures after 20 weeks. The many pro-life groups across the state have played a major role in organizing testimony and rallies at the Capitol and should be commended for their work as well.

When the House State Affairs Committee convened at 3:30 Tuesday afternoon, the Capitol was packed with supporters anxious to have their voices heard. As of 8:30 p.m. nearly 2,000 people had registered to testify on HB 2 and the committee was slated to continue hearing testimony until 12:01 AM. Just after midnight, the committee voted to pass the bill and send it back to the full House with a second reading expected on the House floor next week. We’ll need a crowd in the gallery for support while the members debate and vote on the bill, so make sure to remain updated on further developments. The date of the committee hearing in the Senate is still pending. We’ll keep you updated as we know more about these significant events.