There have been dramatic scenes in Texas after a bill that threatened to close every abortion clinic in the state was overturned just hours after it was passed.
The law was initially approved by the Republican-controlled senate after a day of extraordinary scenes during which Democrats were accused of attempting to filibuster the bill by embarking on a marathon speech to run the debate out of time.
But Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhust has now reversed his decision after acknowledging Republicans missed the deadline to pass the vote after protesters reportedly shouted them down during the final 15 minutes before the vote deadline.
Democrat Wendy Davis was accused of attempting to filibuster the bill Republicans insisted they had started voting before the midnight deadline and passed the bill in time. But computer records of the voting were checked and revealed they were out of time.
The new law would have banned abortion procedures after 20 weeks of pregnancy and demanded that clinics upgrade their facilities and be reclassified as 'ambulatory surgical centres'.
The bill also demanded doctors performing abortions must be granted the right to admit patients to their clinic first by a hospital within 30 miles of the premises.
Opponents claimed the surgical-centre requirement alone would shut down 37 of Texas' 42 abortion clinics currently in operation.
Speaking before the vote, Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said: "If this passes, abortion would be virtually banned in the state of Texas, and many women could be forced to resort to dangerous and unsafe measures."
During the debate women's rights supporters had screamed protests from the public gallery while in the hall outside the Senate chamber, hundreds more protesters wearing orange T-shirts queued for a seat.
In dramatic scenes Democrat Wendy Davis was accused of filibustering after she began speaking against the bill at 11:18am and was only halted at 10:03pm, less than two hours before the midnight deadline, after three complaints from Republicans
Senate rules dictate speakers must stay on topic and remain standing without physical support or breaks for meals or to use the bathroom.
Women's rights protesters watched proceedings from the public gallery Republicans first claimed Ms Davis was guilty of a technical error, before later protesting she was being assisted with a back brace.
Governor Dewhust eventually halted the speech after determining Ms Davis had strayed off topic when she talked about a sonogram bill passed in 2011.
Democrats immediately appealed the move to silence Ms Davis, which set off a heated debate over parliamentary rules.
As news of the reversed vote spread, jubilant campaigners took to Twitter to celebrate.
Texas is one of several states that has been taking aim at the landmark Wade v Roe Supreme Court decision in 1973 that made abortion legal and which set off a debate across America that continues today.
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