On June 25, 2013, a lone woman stood before the Texas Senate. Wearing a pair of comfy pink tennis shoes, Senator Wendy Davis took a stand for women’s right to an abortion in the state of Texas, filibustering for over eleven hours to block the passage of Senate Bill 5. This bill proposed strict new health and safety measures that would mean that all but six of the abortion clinics in state would have to close, leaving no clinics anywhere in the Western half of the state or along with border with Mexico. With the help of pro-choice supporters in the Senate balconies, Davis successfully blocked the passage of the bill. However, one month later, during a second Special Session of the Texas Congress, the bill was passed, and it went into effect a few months ago.
Despite this severe setback in women’s rights in the state, Davis shot to national fame for her resistance against the majority male Republican Senate in Texas, and her name quickly leaped to the top of the short list for the Democratic nomination in the 2014 governor’s race. Now, over a year since Davis first fought against the passage of SB 5, she is finishing up her campaign for govenor. Building on her original position on SB 5, Davis has become a champion for women’s rights, running on a platform for issues that include the re-opening of abortion clinics, a higher rate of crackdown on rapists, and equal pay for women. She has also championed increased rates of education for all Texans, including advocating lower tuition costs for college students.
However, in a state in which Republicans have won every statewide election since 1994, Davis, it seems, will have a tough fight ahead of her to win the race for governor. The latest polls show that Greg Abbott, the current attorney general of Texas and the Republican candidate for governor, is over 14 points ahead of Davis. This results from the fact that Texas is considered a solidly red state, with notable blue islands of the capital, Austin, the Rio Grande Valley, and many downtown areas of larger cities.
Still, even if Davis doesn’t win this race, she is still seen as a beacon for not only abortion rights activists, but also women in general. Davis’s story prior to entering politics itself is remarkable. From becoming a teenage mother at age 19 and living in a trailer home for a few years, Davis was able to complete not only an undergraduate degree, but also obtain her graduate degree at Harvard. She also has first-hand knowledge of abortion, having undergone two herself, both for health reasons related to the baby. Davis also has two healthy daughters and is happily married to her second husband. Her story, with it’s ups and downs, resemble’s almost a Cinderella story, and reflects the struggles that many women face throughout their lives.
When Davis stood before the Senate in her pink running shoes, refusing to back down and with an iron resolve, she truly took a firm, and literal, stand for women’s rights. Perhaps her fight will inspire others, and eventually make having to oppose such a law the exception, not the rule.