 And finally, the woman who probably needs no introduction, Senator Leticia Vande Pute, is your representative, your senator in the Texas Senate. She is a practicing pharmacist since 1980, representing a large portion of San Antonio and Bear County. A former five term state representative, she is representative of the Texas State District 26 since 1999. From 2003 until 2011, she served as the chair of the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus. I look forward to hearing from her specifically about this legislative session and her role in the session. But I should note that after this 2013 legislative session, she was named to Texas Monthly's 10 best legislators list. Welcome, Senator. Thank you. Senator, would you be willing to start by telling us a little bit about what happened this summer, what it was like being there and sort of the legislative process? Thank you very much and thank you to the observer and it is a joy to join these great people on the panel here and I want to thank the University Health Systems and particularly Teresa De La Jolla who made this space available to us. You know, when the legislature meets, it's always contentious and this legislative session, the regular session, was really no different. Except that we had a few more resources and so to talk about the special sessions this summer, you really have to reflect on what happened during the regular session. Well, the comptroller had made a horrific error in the revenue estimate, telling us when we left in 2011 that we had to cut the budget so badly. When we came back in January of 2013, not only had it been miscalculated, but we found out that we had $8 billion more. Which meant that we never had to cut things like public education by $4 billion or the women's health program and the horrific cuts of 2011. So there was an outcry to restore some of the precious programs that we had lost and fortify those that we knew that we could do better like mental health. And so for the most part, operating under the regular rules of the House and the regular rules of the Senate, the legislature stuck to its core mission. Doing a budget, schools, criminal justice, health and human services, water, utilities, the whole gamut and we were pretty successful. Sure, we fought hard and we had disagreements, but at the end of the day, we focused on the important business of the people of the state. Now bills were filed that affected women's health and health care. There were all sorts of bills filed, anti-immigrant, some very toxic subjects. But in the Senate's two-thirds rule, which says that two-thirds of the senators need to approve to bring a measure before the entire Senate, with the Democrats having 12 seats in that 31 seat body, we were able to contain many of those toxic measures. Special session, all bets are off. The normal rules don't apply. So think about it, those of you from San Antonio, think about the San Antonio Spurs and us going through the regular season. We have four quarters, you have so many fouls and you're ejected, there's a 20-point shot clock, and everybody knows those rules. So then when we get to the playoffs, what if when the Spurs win the final game, they go, uh-uh, no, no, no, we're going to go by a different set of rules. Well that's kind of special session, where the two-thirds rule is not in play. Where it is very difficult for those in the minority to have a voice. And that's where the bills affecting women's health came up. We've never seen so much activity at the Capitol. Hundreds and even thousands of people showed up to testify, both in the House on the Senate side. So much that they didn't even know what to do with the people, particularly those who were in opposition. I watched people stay at the Capitol over 24 hours just for the ability to have two minutes before a committee to voice their displeasure with these bills. People as far away as California and New York and Minnesota saw online that these people were in waiting to testify and they just started ordering pizzas to be delivered. Because there were no food outlets, because the cafeteria closes at four o'clock. And they couldn't lose their place in line. We saw a tremendous amount of activism. The House did a tremendous job of getting the bill to the floor. And really the bill that was quite controversial was the one that was wrapped up all in one. That had to do with all of the women's health, the regulations on abortion facilities, on abortion providers, and the time frames. It was really very difficult to see. But we knew that people were left without their voice. They didn't get a chance to testify. And so on the 21st, which was the Friday and Saturday of June and I think the 22nd, we knew that the House was going to have it on the floor. And if the House did a really good job of making sure that bill was deliberated and amendments, and we tried to, some members tried to fix things, that if it got to the Senate on a Monday or Tuesday, that we would be in filibuster territory. Now the Senate tradition is to allow any Senator to filibuster. Many of my Senate colleagues offered to filibuster, including many of our male colleagues. But when it came down to it, we knew that it would have to be a woman. Because they weren't listening to most of the women who came to the Capitol. And my father was killed in a traffic accident on that Friday. And as I left the Capitol, I let Kirk Watson know that Wendy would have to do it. Now we didn't know if Wendy was going to be able to filibuster. Because again, if the House started that bill on Saturday and it got to the Senate, how can you filibuster for three days? It was an amazing time and a very hurtful time for our family, as my dad was really healthy and he was killed in a horrific traffic accident. We were still grieving over the loss of our infant grandson who we lost in May. He would have been almost six months and he just didn't wake up one morning. So I asked Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in a formal letter to please give me an hour and a half notice to return to the Capitol. Should we take any important vote or process? And he said he would. Well my dad's rosary was set for Monday night, the 24th at 7 o'clock. And the Lieutenant Governor called for the vote to be on Monday night at 7 o'clock. And many of the stories that people don't know is that they were going to try to do, to move the calendar. Because the bill was not eligible until 11 o'clock on Tuesday. We knew Wendy could filibuster from 11 o'clock to midnight. But having her filibuster for 31 hours would have been very difficult. Even someone with Wendy's strength in Staten Island. So when I asked Lieutenant Governor if he would give me that notice and he did, and I said this is the exact time of my father's rosary. Well it was decided it was much too important to pass this bill. And so I got in the car and headed to Austin. My colleagues, particularly Senator Eddie Lucio from the Valley, who was by the way for the bill. And a group of senators who were for the bill and were against went to the Lieutenant Governor and asked if they, that was not fair. That they would have the votes to start the debate then. But they realized that was the wrong thing to do. For three of them who petitioned the Lieutenant Governor, I had been with them and their families when they lost their moms or dads. I mean the Senate is a really close body. There's only 31 of us and we celebrate mainly grand babies. Because we're an older body. And so they went to the Lieutenant Governor and said that if Lucio wasn't here that they would not show up. I think he thought that maybe if they would come to the rosary and come back at ten that they could start and they informed him that they would not be there until 11 o'clock on Tuesday. So for even those who in the Senate were for this bill, you have to understand that they all stood up and said we don't do that. Therefore given Wendy the opportunity and I had no doubt that she could do that. I had no plans to return on June the 25th. We had a very late burial for my dad. That was the only one that we could secure at Fort Sam Houston where he wanted to be buried. And after that late afternoon burial we gathered as a family to remember my dad. And we were all together and members of my staff were there. Having known him, some of them for now almost twenty years. And there was the video pictures. You know how families will collect video pictures. And we were watching that video montage. There was a picture there of my dad taken in May two days before the baby died. As I celebrated the Governor for the day. And I called him out because he was an amazing man. He stood up and he was clapping and he was blowing kisses at me. And I saw it and he was standing up for me and everybody else was seated. And that visual of him and the capital and everybody looking at him and him standing up for me just jarred me thinking, Wendy's standing up right now. A few minutes after that my chief of staff approached me and he said I don't want to bother you with this but they just called Senator Davis on the second point of order. The debate rules are that if you're called on three successive successful points of order then the filibuster has ended. And normally you can do all sorts of things during the filibuster. People will give you candy, sip you a little water. Not so with Wendy. She couldn't move. She couldn't touch her desk. There was no sip of water. She had to stay perfectly on topic. And the first point of order was called by someone because she had the audacity to say Roe v. Wade and they said that Roe v. Wade wasn't germane to the subject of the bill. Second point of order was when Senator Ellis was holding this back brace that she was trying to put on and they said he was assisting her. And I told my chief of staff what are they doing? And he says they've decided to watch in 30 minute segments. One senator to watch everything Senator Davis does so that if she touched her desk that would be it. And the other senator to hear every word she said so she was perfectly on topic. And he said boss they're going to get her. And I thought I said I have to go because I thought maybe if I go and she sees me it'll give her some strength, right? And I said by now it's like almost 8.30 at night. And I said I don't think I can get there in time. My chief said DPS is waiting for you outside. They knew I would go. So when I got there I really had no emotional energy. It was nothing. And we had no idea that people were watching online by the way. Not the thing the Senate, the members of the Senate, we had no idea. We knew of the thousands of people there. And as I drove up I mean I was driven up. I was met by a dear friend who almost collapsed when she saw me. Because she didn't think I would be there. And I said I'm not but I think if she sees me. And I went in and I just had no energy. Nothing. I was at the bottom of my well. And I couldn't go on the floor. Because I was really too emotional. And in the members lounge I was greeted by the women of the house. Sympheronia Thompson, Jessica Ferrar, Anna Bettis, Donna Howard, Ruth Jones McClendon. And they comforted me and they said you're here, you're here it'll be fine. And I went out but I didn't want to really look at Wendy. She saw me but I thought if I went to her then maybe she would want to hug me and that would have been it. That would have been a point of order. So I stayed way on the other side reading her on. And it was Senator Wes' wife Carol who came to me and all the women were I sit pretty close to the railing on one side and said you know you're here but you're not here. Because I wasn't engaging at all and I couldn't. I had nothing. I mean I had nothing. And Carol said you know I know your dad and your dad was here and he stood up and it just jarred me that yeah my dad stood up and I saw Wendy standing up. And at that moment Senator Campbell called the third point of order because Wendy said sonogram. And they were going to rule that the sonogram was not germane to the subject. And when I heard that I turned around and actually Carol West was holding my hand and I went aw hell no. And I walked to the dais because I thought this is ridiculous. And I think it was more anger. I wish I could tell you it was some more divine or that I had this great leadership or something. I was angry. I was really angry that someone would twist the rule so much in a representative democracy where debate needs to be done that they were so incessant on having this bill passed that they would throw the rule book by the side. And so I went and I said okay sonogram is in the Texas statute. It's the only thing that's required before a woman wants to terminate her pregnancy and I argued you know in the state of Texas if you have an apodectomy a sonogram is not required. If you have a tonsillectomy a sonogram is not required. However in the termination of a pregnancy a sonogram is required. It is in the statute and this is a bill about it. So they decided that they were going to let the Senate vote which meant that yes they were going to end it. At that time I'm going to tell you your senators kicked in every single parliamentary procedure we could asking to appeal the ruling asking to do everything we could because we knew that we had almost two hours to go. And 30 minutes before the strike of midnight I think the folks in charge got really desperate because they realized that we were doing it very effectively on parliamentary procedure and then it was the frustration of me not being able to be recognized. And so about 20 minutes till or about really a quarter till I could not be recognized. By that time they realized that every time that I would be recognized I would draw that clock out and so my mic was turned off. And I know that the presiding officer heard me the press heard me the gallery heard me I was jumping up and down and so it was out of frustration when I finally got recognized after screaming that I said at what point must a female senator raise her hand or her voice to be heard over the male colleagues in the room because they were recognizing every one of the men and they weren't recognizing me. And I think what happened is that it encapsulated exactly what was happening at the Capitol and in our state is that they're not listening to women they weren't respecting gynecologists and obstetricians who all opposed this bill as bad for women's health. And so the crowd erupted they had been pretty good before that very respectful but they could no longer be contained after watching hour after hour of rules being thrown to the side. And it was the people who finished the filibuster. Now that building that we call the Pink Dome and the Capitol is larger than the US Capitol. That building was shaking. I mean I remember being so scared of thinking it was vibrating so hard I thought it's a granite four-story building but the people were going to be heard. And so at least for one night the people's voices were heard. But what happened then was the social media and the Twitter world we had no idea that there were hundreds of thousands of tweets or Facebook's or people watching online. And what happened is that people all over this country and particularly women and the men who love women were watching an astonishment. Mark your calendar June 25th 2013. It was the turning point because women had just had enough. Thanks.