HOUSTON (AP) - Gov. Rick Perry has thrown his support behind legislation that would ban abortion in Texas after 20 weeks, the point at which he said a fetus can feel pain.
Perry also says he wants the state Legislature to pass legislation requiring physicians who perform abortions to have an agreement with a nearby hospital, letting them admit a patient in case of emergency.
The Legislature reconvenes Jan. 8 and Perry said lawmakers have an "obligation to end that kind of cruelty." He was referring to what he called forcing an unborn baby to feel the pain of its life coming to an end.
Speaking Tuesday in Houston, the governor promised that the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature would spend its entire 140-day session "protecting life."
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