It was fun while it lasted, but Texas Governor Rick Perry, a catcher's mitt in a cowboy hat, has called for a second special session of the Texas Legislature in an effort to pass a hyper-restrictive abortion bill. This after state Senator Wendy Davis, with the support of her Democratic colleagues, successfully filibustered the bill for about 15 hours yesterday, ultimately defeating it.

Perry has ordered lawmakers to convene again on July 1, when they will once again consider the abortion bill and two separate bills dealing with juvenile justice and highway funding.

"I am calling the Legislature back into session because too much important work remains undone for the people of Texas. Through their duly elected representatives, the citizens of our state have made crystal clear their priorities for our great state," Perry said, according to the Texas Tribune. "Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn. Texans want a transportation system that keeps them moving. Texans want a court system that is fair and just. We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do."

In a statement, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst said he supported Perry's decision to call a second special session, adding that it was needed to "address the issues derailed by the actions of an angry mob in the closing moments of the first."

If Democrats aren't able to thwart the bill this time around, it will become one of the most severe abortion laws in the nation: Among other things, it would ban abortions after 20 weeks, require all abortion clinics to update their facilities to become ambulatory surgical centers, and require all abortion doctors to have admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles, effectively shuttering clinics in rural areas.

[Image via AP]