Planned Parenthood Rallies Abortion Advocates to Support Wendy Davis in Texas Governor's Race
Planned Parenthood Action Fund is calling on abortion advocates to support Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) in her bid for governor against likely Republican challenger Attorney General Greg Abbott.
The largest abortion provider in the United States asked its supporters to attend Davis' rally in Haltom City, Texas, wearing the colors of the Texas flag – red, white and blue. An estimated 1,000 people attended the event with more than two dozen pro-life Abbott supporters protesting outside the coliseum.
Davis, 50, proclaimed that she wants to become the 48th governor of the state, and vowed to focus her campaign on education and lifting the recently-passed regulations on abortionists who are required to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, and abortion clinics that are required to meet the same safety standards as ambulatory surgical centers.
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Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, took to social media to announce her and the organization's support for the candidate who's best known for her 10-hour filibuster on the Senate floor that delayed a vote on abortion regulation legislation. The bill, HB 2, which also bans abortion in the state after 20 weeks gestation, ultimately passed in both chambers and was signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry.
However, Planned Parenthood recently filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the requirements for abortionists and the new safety standards for the clinics.
In a statement announcing her support for Davis, Richards hailed the candidate as a "longtime champion for women," and emphasized that she will advocate for abortion providers and "protect women's health and keep politicians out of women's personal medical decisions."
"[W]e're 'all in' to fight for her in this campaign," continued Richards, who traveled with Davis for one week in July on a Planned Parenthood bus tour of Texas.
"The stakes for women's health couldn't be higher in this election," Richards added.
In July, when Davis traveled to Washington, D.C. for an event at the National Press Club and to raise money, she said that abortion is "sacred ground," and there should be no restrictions at all placed upon it.
When asked to name which legal limits on abortion she would support, Davis would not name any.
"You know, the Supreme Court has made that decision," she answered. "And, it's one of the protected liberties under our Constitution, and I respect the constitutional protections that are in place today whether it be for this purpose or whether it be for other protected purposes in the Constitution. I don't think we can pick and choose."
Pro-life activist Lila Rose, president of Live Action, told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that Davis' gubernatorial candidacy would help the pro-life cause by putting more of a spotlight on the issue.
"Ms. Davis' candidacy will accomplish the last thing the abortion movement wants: it will shine more light on the horrifying facts of abortion," Rose said. "As the uncompromisingly pro-abortion Davis seeks the governorship of a solidly pro-life state, those of us who affirm the dignity of pre-born human beings will continue to expose her radical abortion agenda, and the positively fringe mentality of the big abortion corporations gunning to bankroll her candidacy."
She continued, "As a politician whose claim to fame is literally standing up for gruesome late-term abortions on pain-capable babies, now-gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis is in for a rude awakening. More and more polls show a majority of Americans, including both Texans in general and Texas women in particular, oppose Davis' pet procedure."
