Pro-life rally 7 p.m. Monday in Austin

AUSTIN—Pro-life groups are planning a rally at 7 p.m. Monday (July 8) on the state Capitol steps in Austin to support legislation that would outlaw most abortions after 20 weeks and require abortion doctors to meet standards of care and keep hospital privileges within a 30-mile radius of their practices.

The abortion bills filed in the House and Senate, HB 2 and SB 9, carry on where the omnibus SB 5, which died after time expired in the first special session on June 25, left off.

A second special session began Monday afternoon. HB 2 was scheduled for a House committee hearing on Tuesday, with action on the bills most likely to be taken up early next week following the July 4 holiday.

As of Wednesday, featured speakers for the Monday rally included Gov. Rick Perry, CWA Chief Executive Penny Nance, former Arkansas Gov. and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee of FOX News Channel, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, parents of 19 children whose youngest was born at 25 weeks, Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas, and Marilyn Musgrave of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List.

The Duggars star in the long-running “19 Kids & Counting” cable reality show on TLC.

Abortion-rights protestors, estimated at between 3,000-5,000, showed up on Monday at the Capitol in burnt orange, as they did a week ago, holding signs and chanting messages about women’s rights. One sign claimed “Rick Perry hates women!” while another, printed by George Soros’ Moveon.org, read, “I stand with Wendy,” speaking of state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, who filibustered SB 5 for more than 10 hours before procedural breakdown halted the bill more than an hour later. Pro-lifers, though outnumbered and mostly dressed in blue on Monday, prayed and sang. A few wore red tape across their mouths with the word “LIFE” written on it.

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is among the groups promoting the rally. Churches are being encouraged to bring vans and buses with their members to peacefully gather on the Capitol steps.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a supporter of the legislation, told the National Right to Life Committee national meeting last week in Dallas, “Over the past few days, the world has seen images of the Texas Capitol, filled with pro-abortion activists screaming, cheering, and drowning out our elected officials.

“Going forward, we have to match their intensity, but with the grace and dignity of the very cause we champion. We need to voice our opinions and stand for what we believe without compromising our values, or our basic goodness.”