Texas Lawmakers Almost Have Fist Fight Over Abortion Restrictions

One Texas Republican is so determined to make it illegal for insurance to cover abortion care that he almost got into a fist fight over it — during a session of the state legislature. As state representatives worked through a host of restrictions on reproductive rights, Rep. Jonathan Stickland got so angry when one of his proposals died in a committee vote that he threatened a colleague, according to a report by RH Reality Check.

Texas lawmakers had several restrictions to consider: one that would have banned insurance coverage for legally protected abortion care; a ban on abortions for fetal anomalies that would make a child's survival impossible, and one that would require any woman seeking an abortion to provide government identification. After much wheeling and dealing between anti-abortion lawmakers, the insurance proposal still failed, which sent Stickland into a rage.  "You gave me your word!" he yelled as he charged at another representative, the Houston Chronicle reported. Security stepped in and defused the situation, but the tantrum actually worked: The committee voted again passing the proposal, which will be debated on Tuesday. According to RH Reality Check's reporting, this is the second time Stickland has had to be removed from the legislature. Texas is only one of many states pushing to seriously cut down abortion access. Laws have been signed in Arizona, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, among others, and dozens of restrictions have been introduced in 2015 alone, according to statistics from the Guttmacher Institute.