Contact: Carol Everett, Heidi Group, 512-923-8060; Kyleen Wright, Texans for Life, 214-213-4296

AUSTIN, Texas, July 13, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- Texans for Life Committee and The Heidi Group applaud passage of HB 2, the pro-life omnibus bill that bans abortions after 20 weeks and provides added clinic regulations to better protect women.

Passed in the Texas House earlier this week after a 10 hour debate, the bill faced yet another emotional debate marked by disruptions in the senate gallery before passing a vote of 19 to 11, with Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., the lone Democrat voting in support.  The bill now heads to Governor Perry, who has expressed his support for the bill.

The Omnibus bill includes a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, when studies show that preborn babies feel pain, as well as a requirement for clinics to upgrade to that of Ambulatory Surgical Clinics, a requirement that abortion doctors have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and regulation of medical abortions. 

After the Gosnell and Houston's Karpen clinic scandals, the measure quickly won widespread support among Texas' pro-life organizations and activists, including strong support from the Heidi Group and Texans for Life because of its protections for babies and women.

Opponents of the bill, led by Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice Texas and other radical groups unable to rally majority support of legislators, sought to derail the bill with noisy protests in and outside the Capitol and subversion of the legislative process at the end of the first session. 

Lawmakers responded with added security, and scores of pro-life supporters responded in the second Special Session by traveling to the State's Capitol for a major rally with Governor Mike Huckabee, packing hearing rooms and the galleries in both chambers for votes. 

Angered by Senator Wendy Davis' opposition to the bill and her earlier filibuster, many pro-life supporters from her district attended the second Special Session, saying, "Wendy doesn't speak for me."

Ultimately, commonsense -- and law and order -- prevailed, and the Texas legislature enacted the late term abortion ban supported by a strong majority of Texans, along with reasonable steps for improving safety for women. 

According to Texans for Life's Kyleen Wright, the bill means, "Bye, bye, bottom feeders," referring to the measures aimed at ridding the industry of shoddy doctors often employed by clinics. "We commend the Texas Legislature for Standing for Women."

Carol Everett of the Heidi Group, a former abortion clinic owner herself, believes that, "the bill will save many babies and better protect women who have been taken advantage of for years by a ruthlessly for-profit abortion industry."

We are excited that even though the new legislation will likely face legal hurdles, ultimately the law will go into effect, and abortion, while still legal, will finally be rarer and much safer for women, as well.  God bless Texas.

Governor Rick Perry is expected to quickly sign the legislation.