- The Washington Times - Friday, June 28, 2013

The Democrat at the heart of the successful filibuster of a Texas bill to ban abortion after the 20-week pregnancy mark proved an above and beyond dedication to beating back the measure — she even wore a catheter.

Sen. Wendy Davis, 50, donned running shoes, a back brace and a urinary catheter in the walk up to her Tuesday filibuster that ultimately spanned 11 hours.

“She’s a total fighter,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, in the Daily Mail. “And the thing about Sen. Davis, she says she’s going to do something, she gets it down.”

Her filibuster ended abruptly, after Republicans cut her off for speaking off-topic, the Daily Mail said. But subsequent legislative debate that erupted after she was cut off pushed the discussions past the midnight deadline for the bill to pass — and in effect, her filibuster worked.

Gov. Rick Perry has subsequently called for a second special legislative session to debate the same bill for July 1. But Ms. Davis has won big points with the public. Her Twitter follower count exploded from 1,200 to more than 79,000 in the hours of her filibuster, the Daily Mail reported. A day later, that count had hit 100,000.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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