Wendy Davis, Texas Democratic women share frustrations with overturn of Roe v. Wade

Jan. 22, 1973, was a landmark day for Luci Baines Johnson and the rest of the country. It was the day the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade, which established the legal right for American women to have access to abortion. It was also the day Johnson’s father, former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, died at age 64. During a breakfast at the Texas Democratic Convention in Dallas on Saturday, Johnson reflected on the legacies of her both her father and her late mother, Lady Bird Johnson, after whom the annual breakfast is named. The main topic during the event, which drew about 500 people, was the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe last month. After speaking for about 10 minutes, Johnson introduced Wendy Davis, the former state senator from Fort Worth who garnered national recognition after her filibuster in support of abortion rights nearly a decade ago. “I stand here today rejoicing that Wendy’s courage and commitment to community is simply not to be discounted, now or ever,” Johnson said.

During her speech, Davis compared Texas to a “Gilead-like state,” a reference to the harsh fictional theocracy in The Handmaid’s Tale, the Margaret Atwood novel adapted for television. She also said Democrats’ hesitancy is partly to blame for the backslide in abortion rights progress. “We know that those cruel actors on the other side of the aisle never got stopped by such things,” Davis said. “That is exactly why we are where we are today,” she continued, “because we have just been too damn nice.” The remark drew applause and a standing ovation. “It cannot be OK for us to take the careful path — to do only what we think is probable, rather than possible.” Rochelle Garza, the Democratic nominee for attorney general and a former immigration and ACLU attorney, also drew applause when she discussed her 2017 challenge to the Trump administration, where she defended a teenage immigrant held in federal custody who was denied an abortion. Her side ultimately prevailed in the case that drew national attention.