It has been quite an eventful week in politics, at the national level, and in several states. Not only did the Supreme Court hand down rulings on some key cases including DOMA, Proposition 8, and the Voting Rights Act, but the Senate amended the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill to add stronger border security provisions, and is in the beginning stages of coming to a deal regarding student federal loan interest rates (something I am personally very happy about considering the average 6 K in Stafford loans I take each year). Besides all of that earlier this week, something magical happened in Texas.
Wendy Davis, a state Senator representing Texas’ 10th district, made national news for her 11 hour filibuster of the republican backed restrictive reproductive health bill that the Texas legislature’s leadership was attempting to railroad through the state senate. The bill Wendy said would have a “devastating impact” by enacting a 20 week abortion ban, and effectively closing almost all of the health clinics that provide abortive services, among other vital health services for women, across the state.
Wendy Davis, a hero to many in the reproductive rights fight, stood for 13 hours without bathroom breaks, water, or food and talked. Her goal was to kill the bill by stalling the vote till after the midnight deadline for the session. “I thought that we could stop it and we did stop it, for now,” she said on a CBS This Morning Interview. However the victory may be short-lived, as Governor Rick Perry has called a second special session specifically for this bill to be held on July 1st.
Wendy Davis has become a rallying cry for those engaged in the fight against restrictive reproductive health legislation. Her courage, dedication, and unique background have become an inspiration to women, including myself, across the county. The Washington post’s Lydia Depillis published a great profile of Wendy Davis this week, bellow is an excerpt:
“She knows about single motherhood, and poverty. The 50-year-old Davis had to care for her three siblings at the age of 14 for her single mother, and became a single mother herself at the age of 19.
She knows the law. Davis became the first person in her family to graduate from college, with a degree from Texas Christian University and then Harvard Law School. She clerked, litigated, and spent a few years in the title insurance business before starting her own practice for federal and local government affairs, real estate, and contract compliance.”
The national attention she has gotten this week over her “marathon filibuster” has many talking about the possibility of her seeking a higher office, her response “….we’ll see.” My Response to her is that I hope so, we need more strong women in politics that are willing to sacrifice for the best interests of their constituents.
