Valley House delegation split on abortion bill as locals protest at Capitol

Jacqueline Armendariz and Jared Janes, The Monitor

McALLEN — The abortion bill set to reach the state Senate today split Rio Grande Valley delegates in the House on Monday and brought several Valley residents to the Capitol in protest.

Discussion of Senate Bill 5 touched on largely rural and low-income places like the Valley, where women would have to travel hundreds of miles to access an abortion provider or potentially go to Mexico.

The bill’s wide-ranging restrictions would effectively shut down all abortion clinics in the nation’s second most-populous state, while proponents say it raises the standard of health care for women seeking an abortion, The Associated Press reported.

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