Will a Davis-Abbott race bring abortion into politics?

As you most certainly know, and as Lauren Enriquez has written about already, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis is running for governor. Many sources comment as to how Ms. Davis did not mention abortion in her 15-minute speech in which she announced her candidacy. Wayne Slater, though, writing for the DallasNews, a project of The Dallas Star News, declares that “[n]ow that she’s running, Davis will have to talk about abortion.”

Indeed. Slater has this to say about the omission:

But the one thing she didn’t talk about — the very thing that has made her suddenly a viable statewide candidate — was conspicuously absent.

Slater closes his piece with this:

Davis’ political advisers would prefer that she talk about anything but abortion. But that’s the issue that catapulted her to political celebrity.

Whether in the context of health care or women’s rights or opposition to intrusive government, she’ll have to talk about it.

Perhaps Davis will want to hide from discussing abortion. After all, she is running for governor in a conservative, pro-life state, where a majority do not share her view on the 20-week abortion ban, which she filibustered in an attempt to defeat.

And perhaps Davis’s political advisers would prefer that she not discuss abortion because of these factors. To ignore the issue, though, especially when it “catapulted” her to her status, is disingenuous and unfair to the voters of Texas.

Pro-lifers in Texas know better than to let Wendy Davis get away with straying from abortion. Lauren’s piece mentions that Texas Right to Life has installed a “Truth Team,” and mainstream as well as pro-life news outlets are reporting on the organization’s radio ad highlighting Davis’s extreme position on abortion.

Wendy Davis may revel in her underdog status, but the state of Texas has not elected a Democratic governor since Ann Richards in 1990. This was the last race in which a Democrat won the majority of female voters for that state.

On the other hand, Davis’s opponent, Greg Abbott, has a strong pro-life record. The heart of the matter is that Wendy Davis has a strong, even radical pro-abortion position. And on this issue, she is out of touch with the people of the state she would be representing. There should be no reason for Abbott not to address the issue and point out how extreme his opponent is, and how wrong she is for Texas.