Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Thursday invoked state Sen. Wendy Davis’ (D) personal experience as the daughter of a single woman and a teenage mother herself to argue for the passage of a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks — legislation that was at least temporarily blocked earlier this week due to an 11 hour filibuster led by the Texas Democrat.
Perry used Davis as an example of someone who was born into hard circumstances but ultimately became a successful Harvard educated lawyer.
“Who are we to say that children born into the worst of circumstances can’t grow to live successful lives?” he asked in his address at the National Right to Convention in Dallas, Texas. “She was the daughter of as single woman, she was a teenage mother herself. She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas senate. It is just unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters.”
On Wednesday, Perry called for a special legislative session to try again to push through the bill.
Update: Sen. Davis responded to Perry’s comments.
Watch a clip of his speech here, via Think Progress:
