A filibuster over an abortion bill by Texas State Senator Wendy Davis kept people glued to YouTube and Twitter. June 26, 2013 5:11 AM PDT Texas State Senator Wendy Davis. (Credit: wendydavisforsenate.com) YouTube and Twitter both provided blow-by-blow coverage of a long and heated filibuster in Texas that the major cable networks failed to carry. Democratic senator Wendy Davis held the Texas Senate floor Tuesday night in a filibuster that lasted almost 13 hours, the Texas Tribune reported Wednesday. Davis was trying to prevent passage of Senate Bill 5, a controversial abortion bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It would also have required doctors to have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of an abortion facility, perform abortions in ambulatory surgical centers, and administer drugs that induce abortion in person, according to the Tribune. Full coverage of the lengthy filibuster wasn't offered by the major networks, leaving the Internet to carry the load. A YouTube stream of the event hosted by the Texas Tribune captured more than 180,000 viewers. And Twitter users posted 730,000 total tweets about the filibuster on Tuesday, according to Twitter, many using such hashtags as #StandWithWendy, #SB5, and #TXLege. The number of tweets reached their peek at 5,776 per minute just a couple of minutes before the bill's midnight deadline, CNN said. Republicans were finally able to quash the filibuster, bringing the bill up for vote. The final vote seemed to be unclear at first, with some reports saying the bill was approved. However, the Tribute reported Wednesday that the bill was ultimatedly defeated.
A filibuster over an abortion bill by Texas State Senator Wendy Davis kept people glued to YouTube and Twitter.
YouTube and Twitter both provided blow-by-blow coverage of a long and heated filibuster in Texas that the major cable networks failed to carry.
Democratic senator Wendy Davis held the Texas Senate floor Tuesday night in a filibuster that lasted almost 13 hours, the Texas Tribune reported Wednesday.
Davis was trying to prevent passage of Senate Bill 5, a controversial abortion bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It would also have required doctors to have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of an abortion facility, perform abortions in ambulatory surgical centers, and administer drugs that induce abortion in person, according to the Tribune.
Full coverage of the lengthy filibuster wasn't offered by the major networks, leaving the Internet to carry the load.
A YouTube stream of the event hosted by the Texas Tribune captured more than 180,000 viewers. And Twitter users posted 730,000 total tweets about the filibuster on Tuesday, according to Twitter, many using such hashtags as #StandWithWendy, #SB5, and #TXLege. The number of tweets reached their peek at 5,776 per minute just a couple of minutes before the bill's midnight deadline, CNN said.
Republicans were finally able to quash the filibuster, bringing the bill up for vote. The final vote seemed to be unclear at first, with some reports saying the bill was approved. However, the Tribute reported Wednesday that the bill was ultimatedly defeated.
