Less than 72 hours after the passage of House Bill 2, the bill that will hold clinics performing abortions to a standard equal to a ambulatory surgical center, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst released a campaign video that features his role in the bill's passage with clear political and religious undertones.
On June 19, before the filibuster by Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and before the second special session was even being discussed, Dewhurst sent a tweet that featured an ad about how the abortion bill would close all but five clinics in Texas.
We fought to pass SB5 thru the Senate last night, & this is why! #StandWithTXChildren #txlege pic.twitter.com/fJbQSJur7i
— David Dewhurst (@DavidHDewhurst) June 19, 2013
Following this, Dewhurst tried to clarify his position on the matter, and said the abortion debate was not about political gain.
This week, his re-election campaign released an advertisement solely featuring his role in the abortion fight at the state capitol, fueling criticism from Democrats who said they aren't surprised, but are still outraged.
The clear politicizing of the abortion issue in the Dewhurst video has confirmed Democrats' concerns that the Republicans in the Texas legislature were pushing the abortion legislation through for political reasons rather than out of concern for the safety of women.
"His comments that night weren’t the comments of trying to impact policy but instead they were comments of trying to impact politics. We’ve said all along this bill and this series of bills was directed at a small segment of the Republican primaries and I think we now have the ad that proves it," said Democratic Caucus Chairman Sen. Kirk Watson from Austin.
Watson said this bill was never about women's health.
The Dewhurst campaign has been contacted for comment but has not yet responded.
