Texas Governor Rick Perry Thursday signed new abortion restrictions into law Thursday, including a ban on termination after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
“In signing House Bill 2 today, we celebrate and further cement the foundation on which the culture of life in Texas is built,” Perry said prior to signing the bill.
Texas is now the most populous state in the union to impose a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, according to Reuters. Twelve other states have passed similar legislation.
The Republican-controlled House also passed a 20-week ban last month.
In addition to the 20-week ban, the new law also requires abortion doctors to have hospital admitting privileges near their clinics, require abortion clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers and imposes tighter restrictions on the “abortion pill” RU-486.
The legislation gained national attention when Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis staged an 11-hour filibuster to block the bill in the Senate. Davis’ attempt failed to prevent the bill from passage.
Activists on both sides of the abortion debate descended on the Texas Capitol in recent weeks, with abortion supporter urging legislators to stop the bill.