ANDY MCSMITH
www.independent.co.uk Wendy Davis' 10-hour speech propels her into the filibuster super league. She's in varied company
The rules for speaking in the Texas Senate are strict, so Davis' speech blocking an anti-abortion bill is a historical achievement - even if she missed her self-imposed target
BECKIE SMITH
www.independent.co.uk Wendy Davis talked her way to a vital victory for US women last night
Let's hope the senator fights Texas' abortion bill a second time round
Grace Dent
www.independent.co.ukSenator Davis issues the perfect response
I’m full of respect for the tenacity of Democratic Senator Wendy Davis, who took to the floor of the Texas Senate in pink tennis-shoes on Tuesday night to begin the 10-hour filibuster of an abortion Bill. Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) would ban abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy. The Bill would give Texas some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. That’s a dirty trick to play on Western women by lawmakers, who display little empathy or respect for why they might need to make the choice to abort.
A filibuster – talking and talking as an obstruction to delay or prevent a vote – was an apt and delicious response, as if to say: “You can come with your laws trying to drag women into the past, but ultimately you can’t shut us up”. At the age of 19, Davis was a divorced single mother raising a daughter in a trailer park. She took two years of community college courses, went to Texas Christian University, became the first person in her family to graduate from college and then went on to Harvard Law School. If anyone is worth listening to for 10 hours about a woman’s right to choose, it’s Wendy Davis.
