WATCH: Rick Perry takes a swipe at Wendy Davis for being a teenage mom

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last updated 8 January 2015

Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) captured the attention of the nation on Tuesday when she slipped into her sneakers and launched into an exhausting, 11-hour filibuster aimed to keep controversial new abortion regulations from passing in the state legislature. The bill would have closed every abortion clinic in the state except for five, and some eyed Davis' one-woman appeal as foreshadowing a potential run for governor. (See 5 interesting facts about Wendy Davis.)

Delivering a speech at the National Right to Life conference on Thursday, current Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) had some words for Davis. "Who are we to say that children born into the worst of circumstances can't grow to live successful lives?" Perry asked. Davis, after all "was the daughter of a single woman, she was a teenage mother herself. She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas senate."

Perry continued: "It is just unfortunate that she hasn't learned from her own example that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters."

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(Via ThinkProgress)

Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.