By Corrie MacLaggan
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled Texas Senate passed a bill to ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, ending a political battle that stirred national debate over what critics see as laws threatening the right to abortion in the United States.
Republican Governor Rick Perry had called a second special session of the legislature to pass the bill, already approved by the House, and he is certain to sign it, making Texas the 13th state to pass a 20-week ban.
The Senate passed the measure late on Friday by a vote of 19 to 11 in front of a full public gallery while protesters yelled and chanted outside the chamber.
Courts have blocked the ban in three of the 12 states that passed it, and opponents of the Texas bill vowed to challenge the decision in court.
Thousands of activists for and against the bill gathered at the state capitol this summer for rallies and marches and to testify at public hearings.
"Let's draw the line and not torture these babies that are aborted," bill supporter Senator Bob Deuell, a Republican and a family physician, said during the debate lasting several hours.
The Texas measure would lift standards for abortion clinics, which opponents say would cause dozens of the facilities to shut down, forcing Texans to turn to illegal, unsafe means. Bill supporters disagree that clinics would have to close.
"This bill is creating a situation where women in Texas today not only will not be made safer but they will absolutely be at risk of their health," said state Senator Wendy Davis, a Democrat who in June staged an 11-hour filibuster in the first special session of the legislature.
(Editing by Louise Ireland and Alex Dobuzinskis)
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