It would ban abortion at 20 weeks post-fertilization and recognize that the state has a compelling interest to protect fetuses from pain; require doctors performing abortions to have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of the abortion facility; require doctors to administer the abortion-inducing drug RU-486 in person, rather than allowing the woman to take it at home; and require abortions — including drug-induced ones — to be performed in ambulatory surgical centers.

After impassioned, often personal speeches from lawmakers in both parties noting the emotions that have followed House Bill 2 through the legislative process, the Texas Senate approved the omnibus abortion measure late Friday night.

The measure restricting abortions in Texas is now headed to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk, having passed as thousands of protesters who opposed the measure chanted in and around the Capitol. The crowd outside the chamber erupted after HB 2 passed with a vote of 19-11. But inside, there were none of the eruptions that helped kill the abortion bill in the first special session.

“This is a very difficult, emotional bill that we have dealt with,” said state Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, the sponsor of HB 2.

Democrats offered 20 amendments, ranging from proposals to add exceptions to the bill’s 20-week abortion ban for victims of rape and incest to requiring annual inspections of abortion facilities and allowing teen mothers to be excluded from a state law requiring parental consent for family planning services. All were rejected on party-line votes in a debate that lasted until nearly midnight on Friday.

State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, who stopped the abortion bill from passing with an hours-long filibuster that ended the first special session, spoke against the bill briefly on Friday.

“We all believe in the beauty and the wonder of human life,” she said.

Alluding to Democrats’ hope that the passion from opponents of the abortion legislation translates into votes at the ballot box in the coming election cycle, Davis said, “The fight for the future of Texas is just beginning.”

Chants and cheers from a massive crowd gathered outside of the chamber in the rotunda were constantly audible in the Senate, echoing the boisterous conclusion of the first special session. But the audience observing from the packed gallery remained quiet and orderly, with a few exceptions, throughout the proceedings. When lawmakers finished voting on proposed amendments, a small group of women attempted to chain themselves to the gallery’s railings, singing softly to the tune of “Give Peace a Chance.” Texas Department of Public Safety officers quickly arrived, but not before one of them secured herself to the railing. At two other points during closing speeches, protesters shouted from above, only to be promptly removed by the DPS.

Many senators offered stories from their own lives as they explained their position on the legislation. Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, said that when his mother was pregnant with him, she contracted rubella and was advised to get an abortion.

“I thank God that my parents walked out of that doctor’s office and never looked back,” he said.

Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Laredo Democrat, said that she will “always be pro-life,” but that she would vote against the bill because its provisions would do nothing to reduce unintended pregnancies or abortions.

“The lines between pro-choicers and pro-lifers are not as clear-cut as some people think, or wish they were,” she said.

As Democrats cautioned about the measure’s consequences for women faced with unwanted pregnancies, many Republicans emphasized the importance of preventing abortions after 20 weeks.

“It’s about taking the life of an innocent baby,” said Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston. “What choice does the baby have? Who speaks for the baby?”

Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said she agreed with Democrats who have argued that the state should invest more in women’s health programs.

“We need to do a better job in the area of prevention, we must invest in family planning, we need to make sure that abortion is not used as a family planning method,” she said, adding that the Legislature’s cuts to women’s health and family planning “were too deep” in 2011.

She asked Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to appoint an interim committee to study the subject, which he agreed to do from the dais.

A suggestion from Patrick that senators who voted for the legislation were “listening a little closer” to God than those who opposed it prompted a heated response from Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, who told his colleague he had crossed the line.

“Don’t question the faith of any member,” he said.

After the final vote, Dewhurst appeared tearful as he called on the senators and activists for and against the legislation to come together despite the differences that have separated them in recent weeks.

He said he prayed for them “not to forget to love each other as Christ loved the church and as we love all those unborn babies.”

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