Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate for the governor of Texas, came to the attention of most Americans outside Texas when, as state senator, she filibustered a highly restrictive abortion bill for 11 straight hours.
Now Davis is making headlines for her newly released memoir, Forgetting to Be Afraid. In the book, Davis revealed for the first time that she had two abortions herself. She also details her gritty and sometimes unhappy life growing up, first in Rhode Island and then Texas, Oklahoma and California.
Davis' parents divorced, remarried and then divorced again. She told NPR's Wade Goodwyn that her family was in dire financial straits after her father started his own nonprofit theater company.
"My mother, who had only a ninth-grade education — which wasn't at all uncommon for farming families of her generation — went to work for really the first time in her life," she said. "My brothers and I all went to work very young, to really help us make ends meet."
During Davis' first year in high school, she met an older boy, and at the end of her junior year she moved in with him and was soon pregnant with her first child.
A nurse at the medical clinic where she worked changed Davis' life when she handed her a course brochure from the local community college.
"I started looking through it and decided that maybe I could try to become a paralegal," she says. "So, while working a full-time job, and a part-time job waiting tables at my father's dinner theater at night, I also enrolled in paralegal courses."
It was an educational journey that took her all the way to Harvard Law School.
This week, Davis' opponent, Republican Greg Abbot, filed an ethics complaint accusing Davis of illegally using campaign funds for a book tour stop in New York City. The Davis campaign called the complaint "frivolous."
Interview Highlights
On her two abortions during her second marriage
The first, the ectopic pregnancy, was difficult, as you can imagine. ... The second was so much more traumatic. We had tried for a couple of years, and we were so excited to discover that I was expecting a girl. We named her Tate Elise, and began preparing for her arrival, and it wasn't too much longer after that that we — my former husband and I — discovered that she had a severe brain abnormality. We were in a tailspin. Through a great deal of pain, we ultimately made a decision that the most loving thing that we could do for her was to let her go.
On running as a Democrat in a state known for electing Republicans
When I entered this race, I did it thoughtfully. I knew that if I was going to ask people to donate their time or their money to me, I needed to be able to look them in the eye and say, "I believe I can win." I started with an extraordinarily high name ID — which is rare for a statewide Democratic candidate. I also started with a partnership, a group of folks who saw in Texas what I see. It's not that Texas is a deeply red state; it's that it's a chronically low-vote-participation state.
We have over 240 paid field organizers on the ground. We have over 26,000 volunteers. When people believe that their votes are going to matter, they show up. I remain convinced that not only is this a winnable race, but [that] we will win it.
9(MDE1MTIxMDg0MDE0MDQ3NTY3MzkzMzY1NA001))
Transcript
WADE GOODWYN, HOST:
This story is part of a reporting partnership with NPR, Houston Public Media and Kaiser Health News. Wendy Davis is the Democratic candidate for the governor of Texas and the author of a new book, a memoir, entitled "Forgetting To Be Afraid." Davis first came to the attention of most Americans outside of Texas when as a state senator, she filibustered a highly restrictive abortion bill for 11 straight hours. In the book, she details her gritty and sometimes unhappy life growing up. Her parents divorced, remarried and then divorced again. And Davis told us her family was in dire financial straits after her father started his own nonprofit theater company.
WENDY DAVIS: My mother, who had only a ninth grade education, which was not at all uncommon for farming families of her generation, went to work for really the first time in her life. And my two older brothers and I all went to work very young to really help us make ends meet.
GOODWYN: During Davis's first year in high school, she met an older boy and at the end of her junior year she moved in with him, and was soon pregnant with her first child. A nurse at the medical clinic she worked at changed Davis's life when she handed her a course brochure from the local community college.
DAVIS: I started looking through it and decided that maybe I could try to become a paralegal. So while working a full-time job and a part-time job waiting tables at my father's dinner theater at night, I also enrolled in paralegal courses.
GOODWYN: It was an educational journey that took her all the way to Harvard Law School. We also ask her about her two abortions during her second marriage.
DAVIS: The first - the ectopic pregnancy - was difficult, as you can imagine.
GOODWYN: It could've killed you.
DAVIS: Yes. The second was so much more traumatic. We had tried for a couple of years. And we were so excited to discover that I was expecting a girl. We named her Tate Elise and began preparing for her arrival. And it wasn't too much longer after that, that we - my former husband and I - discovered that she had a severe brain abnormality. We were in a tailspin. And through a great deal of pain, we ultimately made a decision that the most loving thing that we could do for her was to let her go.
GOODWYN: If Texas's current abortion restrictions had been in place, could you obtain an abortion?
DAVIS: You know, I don't think about what happened with me and my precious daughter Tate through a policy lens. What I can tell you is that it was a terrible experience for me and my family. And I certainly wouldn't want that ban to prevent other families from making their own personal decisions.
GOODWYN: You've paddled against the current up a lot of streams during your lifetime, but deciding to run for governor as a Democrat in Texas has got to be the strongest current yet. Nobody knows the state's political demographics better than you, I'm sure. But Al Gore lost to George Bush by more than 21 points. John Kerry got beat by 22 points. President Obama lost to Governor Romney by nearly 16 points. I know you thought long and hard about this. Why run now?
DAVIS: I knew that if I was going to ask people to donate their time or their money to me, I needed to be able to look them in the eye and say, I believe I can win. I started with an extraordinarily high name ID, which is rare for a Democratic statewide candidate. I also started with a partnership, a group of folks who saw in Texas what I see. It's that it is a chronically low-vote participation state. We have over 240 paid field organizers on the ground. We have over 26,000 volunteers. When people believe that their votes are going to matter, they show up. And I remain convinced that not only is this a winnable race, but we will win it.
GOODWYN: State Senator Wendy Davis is the Democratic candidate for governor and the author of her new memoir, "Forgetting To Be Afraid." Thanks for joining us.
DAVIS: Thank you very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad