Members of the gallery in the Capitol in Austin played a role in a vote on an abortion bill taking place after an official deadline. "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," Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday, in calling for a special session. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., was chosen by House Republican leaders to manage a bill that would ban many abortions. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., has introduced a federal bill to ban most abortions after 20 weeks' gestation — six weeks into the second trimester. This is the second straight Congress he's done so, but this time he's broadened his bill to encompass all 50 states, not just D.C. Matt York/AP hide caption
Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Philadelphia courthouse after the guilty verdicts Monday. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick, a Republican, watches the chamber's electronic tally board as it approves a sweeping anti-abortion bill Friday at the Statehouse in Topeka. At left is Majority Leader Jene Vickrey. John Hanna/AP hide caption
An anti-abortion activist at the March for Life rally Friday in Washington, D.C. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images hide caption
Forty years after Roe v. Wade -- and nearly 50 years after the start of efforts toward legalizing abortion -- the debate still carries on, with younger generations ready to take up the cause for both sides. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption
People hold pictures of Savita Halappanavar during a vigil outside Belfast City Hall, Northern Ireland, on Thursday. Halappanavar died Oct. 28 in Galway, Ireland, just days after she was denied an abortion. Peter Morrison/AP hide caption
Women use wordplay to protest Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's position on women's health care outside the Hyatt Regency, where Romney was scheduled to attend a fundraiser, on March 22 in Washington, D.C. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption
Richard Mourdock, Republican candidate for Senate in Indiana. Nick Carey/Reuters /Landov hide caption
Congressman Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) right, and challenger Tammy Duckworth, left, at a televised debate at WTTW Chicago on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP hide caption