Outgunned in the Texas legislature, one democratic lawmaker nevertheless introduced a bill to block further laws restricting abortion — until the state ends capital punishment, according to the Huffington Post.

Rep. Harold Dutton, a democrat from Houston, seeks to block new restrictions on abortion in Texas brought by republicans. House Bill 45 would block any law restricting access to abortions until 60 days after the state abolishes the death penalty.

Dutton unsuccessfully introduced the same bill last year. "Twelve people can put somebody to death in this state," Dutton said of his proposal, which was eventually tabled. "But now, we want one person to not be able to decide that same issue."

The state this year executed its 500th inmate since the federal ban on the death penalty was lifted in 1976, with 261 of those executions occurring under the administration of Gov. Rick Perry, a republican whose term ends in 2014.

Dutton and other democrats are still fighting an abortion bill that passed the legislature this month, which bans the procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy and requires clinics to meet the same regulatory standards as outpatient surgeries, which would effectively shut down many abortion clinics in the state. Many of those standards represent prohibitive costs for currently operating clinics in the state, including a requirement to widen hallways to allow patients to be carried on stretchers and to provide large recovery rooms.

Doctors performing abortions would also have to secure admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, further limiting the pool of abortion doctors in the state.

Political analysts expect pro-choice groups to challenge the law in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, although it's unclear how the court would rule.

Other liberal pro-choice organizations, such as Planned Parenthood Federation of America, plan to attack pro-life lawmakers in the next election cycle.

Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood Federation of America president, spoke at a Sex, Politics, and Cocktails event in Washington, D.C. last week, where she called on her volunteers to help vote the bill's supporters out of office.

"You might not see us crowding your corridors and objecting from the balconies, but make no mistake, we are still here," Cecile Richards, the organization's president, wrote in an e-mail to financial backers. "We are in Texas, in North Carolina, in Ohio, and every place a small group of politicians tries to turn back the hands of time on women and rights."

Pro-choice proponents also won't likely be crowding the governor's mansion anytime soon, either. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, a former Texas Supreme Court justice who is pro-life, announced his candidacy for the republican nomination to replace Perry. Pundits largely expect pro-life politicians to dominate the republican field, which in turn dominates the state.