The floor of the Wisconsin State Senate erupted into an explosive shouting match Wednesday afternoon after the senators battled through a debate over a bill requiring women to undergo an ultrasound procedure before being permitted to have an abortion.
“What they are trying to do in Wisconsin is what we did here in Texas, where we show you the ultrasound before you make up your mind as to whether or not you're going to have an abortion,” Pat explained on radio this morning.
After hearing the dissenting opinions of her colleagues, Republican Senator Mary Lazich presented an eloquent and impassioned defense of the legislation.
LAZICH: The theatrics surrounding the former presentation, as we all know, those of us that look at the bill and read the bill, it exempts rape and incest. So some of the theatrics please, please know that as those that read the bill and understand that.
We had a lady testify, her name was Carol, she testified that a number of years ago she went to a clinic, found out she was pregnant. I believe her location was Kenosha. The testimony's out there. We can track that down. She was told to go to Milwaukee and get her abortion. She described the very cold, cold procedure and what happened, and the cold environment. She went to this cold environment. Someone was sitting there passing around Valium. She goes in. She's crying through the procedure. She told her, don't worry, it's a blob of tissue, you're doing the right thing, get it over with quick.
She goes home and lives with this day after day after day after day. The rest of her life she lives with this trauma. And it's time for that to end. It's time for women to know the facts. It's time for them to know what they're carrying in their womb and what they're doing. They get those full facts, they make that decision, it's legal, they do it, they terminate their pregnancy. If you have a loved one that's thinking about terminating their pregnancy, for crying out loud, you want them to have full information. You want them to have an ultrasound. You want them to know what's going on in that womb and what they're doing and that they're not going to be able to change that for the rest of their life. They make that decision; it's over. It's over in a few minutes and then later on they can live with the fact that they terminated their pregnancy and it was the best thing for them; or they killed their child and they made a horrific decision and they regret it and they wish they never would have done it. And for those that want that information and wish that they never would have done it, that's what Sonia's law is about.
“That’s amazing,” Glenn said. “All you're asking for is information – show you information. Now, they don't like it because they say it's just a blob of tissue… The argument against it is it's too emotional. Well, why is it emotional? Because you're hearing a heartbeat, you're recognizing it as a human.”
TheBlaze reports that following Sen. Lazich’s remarks, the senate floor spiraled into chaos:
Following Lazich’s comments, Senate President Mike Ellis (R) called for a vote on the bill despite efforts by Senate Democrats to extend the debate. The move resulted in chaos on the Senate floor.
“It’s non-debatable! Call the roll!” Ellis shouted over lawmakers while pounding his gavel. “You’re out of order!”
“You’re out of order!” another Wisconsin senator shot back.
“You’re interrupting a roll call! Sit down right now!” a visibly furious Ellis hollered.
“I understand you’re afraid of this debate,” Larson said, his microphone turned off.
Remarkably, the bill passed 17-15 with support sharply divided along party lines. The vote is expected to pass in the Assembly today, and Governor Scott Walker has already said he will sign the bill into law.
“There's something – Michigan is changing. Wisconsin is changing. They've had enough. They've seen what it is doing to jobs. They've seen what it is doing to their communities,” Glenn said. “In Michigan they waited too long, but everything's changing because they've had enough of the nightmare of socialism and social justice. And it's good – there is some good news. You're about to win, guys.”
Watch the entire exchange unfold here: