BROWNSVILLE, TX, November 5, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Opponents have many labels for Texas Senator Wendy Davis, but none would use this one: Pro-life.

That's how the Forth Worth Democrat, who is best known for engaging in a marathon filibuster against a bill to stop abortionists from killing unborn children who can feel pain, described herself at the University of Texas at Brownsville yesterday.

Attempting to cast herself as more than the woman in loud shoes who temporarily derailed a state pro-life bill, she criticized Governor Rick Perry for not expanding the state's Medicaid program and touted her putative support for the downtrodden.

“I am pro-life,” Davis said, according to the Valley Morning Star. “I care about the life of every child: every child that goes to bed hungry, every child that goes to bed without a proper education, every child that goes to bed without being able to be a part of the Texas dream, every woman and man who worry about their children’s future and their ability to provide for that future. I care about life and I have a record of fighting for people above all else.”

She added, “The battle over reproductive rights and women’s health care that was waged on June 25 was not a battle I chose.”

The rhetorical gambit is a familiar one to those who support the unborn, as pro-abortion politicians attempt to redefine the meaning of pro-life and castigate opponents as merely “pro-birth.”

Critics emphasize that crisis pregnancy centers and church organizations provide for needy babies and their mothers out of their own pockets, while Planned Parenthood has become a billion dollar industry as the nation's largest abortion provider.

Texas Right to Life said Davis is “famous for championing child-killing,” not for her efforts to preserve life.

The bill Davis filibustered barred abortions after 20 weeks, demanded abortion facilities meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers, required abortionists to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their office, and mandated that medical abortions follow the FDA-approved method for administering RU-486.

Davis is the prohibitive frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for governor next year. If successful, she would become the Lone Star state's first Democratic governor since Ann Richards, the mother of Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has appealed provisions of the abortion law Davis filibustered, H.B. 2, to the U.S. Supreme Court.