Texas Speaker Joe Straus Killed ALL Big Pro-Life Bills in 2013 - Straus is a Pro-Choice DISGRACE

Joe Straus, Texas Speaker of the House of Representatives, has KILLED all important pro-life bills in the 2013 Texas Legislative session. Joe Straus is not pro-life and NEVER has been. Straus has stated to the media that abortion is not a serious issue but a wedge issue.

Straus and his House Leadership prevented the Texas House of Representatives from even being able to vote on these bills. These bills, among other things, would prevent abortions after 20 weeks due to the fact that unborn babies can feel pain that early. Another bill that was killed would have created higher health standards for abortion clinics and would have helped stop abortionists like Kermit Gosnell who run Hitler-style murder houses where babies are born alive and then murdered. In fact, a Houston abortionist has recently been exposed for murdering babies in gruesome fashion (like twisting their heads off) after they have been born alive. Joe Straus is a DISGRACE to all Texans and cares not about the infanticide of innocent babies.

We can only hope that Texas Governor Rick Perry adds these pro-life bills to the agenda of the special session.

Straus killed the pro-life bills this session because he had to throw a bone to his Democrat friends who he teamed up with to help him win the position of Texas Speaker. In fact, Democrats have come out and praised Joe Straus in recent weeks for killing pro-life and pro-gun legislation this session.

Texas LT Governor David Dewhurst has called on Governor Perry to add these pro-life bills to the special session agenda after Straus killed them in the House. Specifically, Dewhurst has requested SB 25, which would outlaw abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy; SB 537, which would force Texas abortionists to abide by the same regulations as those governing ambulatory, or outpatient, surgical centers; and SB 1198, which would require Texas abortionists to have admittance privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion facility. These bills passed the Texas Senate but did not even make it to the House floor for a vote.

Texas Right to Life sent a letter to Governor Perry signed by 62 Texas pro-life State Representatives. The letter asks for Governor Rick Perry to add pro-life bills to the 2013 Special Session agenda. The bills requested to be added to the special session are bills that Texas Speaker Joe Straus asked his leadership to kill during the 2013 regular legislative session.

Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus has shown his true colors this legislative session (2013). Last session (2011), Straus had to ward off massive attacks from conservative groups that said he was a fake conservative and not pro-life. In order to ward off the attacks, Straus allowed some of the big conservative bills to pass through unopposed. Do not be confused though, Straus NEVER stood for ANY of the pro-life bills in 2011, he ONLY allowed them not to be killed. There was a supermajority of Republicans and he would not have been able to stop the pro-life bills in 2011 anyways. To be honest, with a supermajority of Republicans in 2011, there should have been a bunch more even stronger pro-life bills passed. For such a conservative state, Texas is really behind other states that have already passed much more restrictive abortion laws like bans against aborting 20 week babies who can feel pain and even bans on abortions when the heartbeat can be detected.

Straus might have gone along with some pro-life legislation last session for political reasons, but that is not the case this session as 2013 has been an absolutely underwhelming legislative session. Joe Straus purposely did not let any controversial bills make it to the House floor for a vote. That means, even with a near supermajority of Republicans, the biggest conservative bills of the session went nowhere because they did not even make it out of the committees run by Straus-appointed leaders. Why? Well, Joe Straus is a friend of the Democrats. He got elected by the Democrats when he first took over the Speaker position. The Democrats were mad that some of the good conservative bills were allowed to be passed last year. Last session, Straus threw some bones to conservatives by allowing some of the conservative legislation to be passed (although many conservative bills last session were still killed). Not blocking some of the big conservative bills allowed Straus to keep his power in the Republican controlled House because there are enough moderates Republicans and Democrats to outnumber the conservative Republicans.

Well, the dog and pony show of last year is over and now that he has kept his power, he couldn't care less about conservative legislation and now has to switch sides and throw some bones to the Democrats this session. He has done just that. Straus has allowed his committee leaders to kill MOST of the top conservative bills of the session (not just pro-life) before they even can get out of committee for a full floor vote.