Wendy Davis

Three Things Senator Wendy Davis Taught Me About Life /  by *nickels*

This past Tuesday, I had the privilege to witness Senator Wendy Davis filibuster an oppressive abortion bill that would ultimately shut-down all but 5 clinics in the state of Texas. I am indeed pro-choice. I think every woman has the right to choose what happens to HER body. The ramifications for the passage of such a bill are quite horrific. The bill would ONLY allow for the procedure to be performed in a handful of cities including Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio. Those cities are within a 3.5/4 hour radius of each other on the west side of the state. It takes more than 15 hours to drive across Texas!!! The bigger picture though, is that these facilities are the go to places for a lot of poor, uninsured women throughout this state and many nearby states as well for things like birth control, breast exams, and health checks.

I am not ashamed to say that it made me quite emotional seeing Sen. Davis literally give her body and her voice for so many that could not. I (re)learned 3 big lessons from her that can be applied to everyday life!
1. PREPARATION is key - 
  • Sen. Davis and her democratic senate minority cohort had collected binders upon binders of stories, articles, and research to read from to take up the 13 hour filibuster time block.
  • She knew what she was talking about and had retorts ready when she was questioned
  • She wore the now infamous pink Mizuno Women’s Wave Rider 16 Running Shoe for the long haul. No heels for this battle
2. It helps to have PEOPLE -
  • Frequently, her fellow Democrat Senators would stand around her for support
  • Her office, with the help of social media, was able to keep collecting stories that they would then send to her to read ensuring that she had enough material
  • Her Democrat fellows would eek the time... essentially running the clock by asking her questions that asserted their beliefs.... and spoke very slowly. LOL
3. In the end, it comes down to YOU - 
  • Even though she had some support, it was SHE that had to stand for the entirety of the filibuster, even after there was some dispute as to whether a not a vote on the bill passed.
  • SHE had the responsibility of thinking quickly on her feet when questioned by Republican senators.
  • SHE spoke from her experiences and from what people would consider a mistake, being a teenage mother. And then she rocked it out at Harvard Law!
  • SHE had to stand, she had to exhaust herself, she had to fight. And had it not been for the conviction of her values and what she wanted, she would not have been successful!