Abortion Supporters Chant 'Hail Satan' in Texas Capitol as Pro-Lifers Sing 'Amazing Grace'
For several hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, the phrase "Hail Satan" trended on Twitter as word spread that abortion supporters had chanted it at pro-life Christians singing "Amazing Grace" amid mounting tensions over the pending passage of strict abortion laws in the Texas Capitol.
This week, Texas Governor Rick Perry convened a second special session in the Texas Senate after Democratic activism botched the passage of legislation that would have banned abortions in that state after 20 weeks.
The legislation would also require that abortions be performed at ambulatory surgical centers and mandate that doctors obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their practice. Opponents of the proposal argue that the proposal would virtually shut down abortion clinics in that state and pro-life supporters have no problem with that.
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"The world has seen images of pro-abortion activists screaming, cheering," Republican Gov. Rick Perry noted, in an earlier report in which he vowed that the process would not be derailed a second time. "Going forward, we have to match their intensity, but do it with grace and civility."
Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth and her colleagues attempted to kill the abortion legislation with a 13-hour filibuster on the last day of the first special session last Tuesday.
Republicans, however, rallied using a parliamentary technicality to shut down Davis' attempt before the midnight deadline to vote on the bill kicked in. Once this happened, however, unruly abortion rights advocates erupted in a loud protest in the public gallery of the Senate which prevented the senators on the floor from hearing sufficiently to vote on the bill.
On Tuesday, the pro-abortion supporters went from riotous to sacrilegious when they chanted "Hail Satan" repeatedly in a bid to silence Christian pro-lifers who were singing "Amazing Grace" in support of abortion restrictions in the state.
The extremely unorthodox chant from the abortion supporters triggered a trend of "Hail Satan" on Twitter and many dismissed it as terrible public relations for the pro-abortion movement.
"When your supporters go around yelling 'hail satan' you're likely not gonna have fabulous #'s" tweeted investigative journalist Kerry Picket pointing to poll numbers showing Gov. Perry at a big advantage in a potential face-off with political upstart Wendy Davis.
Other critics of the use of the "Hail Satan" chant like public relations expert Mark Demoss implied it was excessive.
"Do supporters of late-term abortion in TX help their cause by chanting 'Hail Satan' (really) over top of pro-lifers singing Amazing Grace?" asked Demoss in a tweet on Wednesday.
"'Hail Satan!' was actually the compromise chant. The hot-heads wanted 'We Know It's Murder And We Don't Care!'" tweeted conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg.
