To Acclaim, Texas Politician Stages Filibuster To Protect Abortion Access (Updated)

Wendy Davis on her Abortion Law Filibuster: Bill Could Have a "Devastating Impact" (CBS News)

(CBS News) Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis' marathon filibuster left the lawmaker standing and talking -- without food, water, or bathroom breaks -- for nearly 13 hours.

With help from a raucous crowd of pro-choice protesters, Davis managed to stop Republican state senators from passing sweeping abortion restrictions. If passed, the legislation would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and would have closed nearly every abortion clinic in Texas. Republicans in favor of the measure emphasized that their goal was to improve women's health care but allowed that they supported clinics closing across the state.

Clad in pink tennis shoes and bolstered by a gallery of onlookers and supportive Democratic senators, Davis staged a filibuster that effectively ran out the clock for passing the measure, a triumph she called "a test of endurance but well worth it."