The Texas legislature has finally passed a late-term abortion ban — as it would have last month, had a mob not taken over the upper chamber’s galleries and disrupted the legislative process.  The final vote, 19-11, is almost identical to the vote taken at the end of the previous session to pass the bill to Gov. Rick Perry.  This time, Perry will get an opportunity to sign it:

After a day filled with pro-abortion threats, pro-life people hiding in secure areas of the capitol fearing for their safety, jars of feces and urine and protestors disrupting the Senate proceedings, democracy finally prevailed.

Members of the state Senate approved the bill to ban late-term abortions on a 19-11 margin on second reading. The chamber then approved the bill in third reading by the same 19-11 vote.

The bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks and hold abortion clinics accountable by making them meet basic health and safety standards that have closed facilities in other states that are unable to comply. The bill also requires all abortion clinics to meet the same health and safety regulations as an ambulatory surgical center, requires a doctor providing abortions to secure admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and lastly, requires a doctor to personally administer the abortion-inducing drugs to the patient.

There’s no question that Perry will sign this bill ASAP.  He’s been champing at the bit to push this into legislation, in part energized by the attempt at mob rule by pro-abortion activists, and in part because 62% of Texans support the bill.  In April, a similar number nationwide said they would support a similar ban if science showed that children can feel pain at 20 weeks’ gestation.

In this case, the extreme position has always been carte blanche for abortions on demand. Thanks to the tactics of the pro-abortion forces in this case, that extreme has been clear from the beginning.  Whether it’s the attempt to hijack the legislature while attempting to pass a popular bill, chanting “Hail Satan” at pro-life demonstrators, or bringing urine, feces, and tampons (and bricks) to throw at elected officials, the opposition to this bill has managed to make themselves look like absolute nutcases at every turn, but their extremism is worse than it looks.  They’re clearly uninterested in democracy; they want to intimidate the majority with violence and disgusting tactics from the minority.  They’re proto-dictators with bad taste, at the least.

Don’t think that this experience won’t stick in the minds of Americans, either. The pro-abortion activist front may have set back their own cause by decades.  That’s good news for unborn children — and also for people who love representative democracy.