A high school valedictorian from Texas flipped the script on school officials by\u00a0using her graduation speech to speak out against the state\u2019s newly-signed\u00a0law banning abortions as early as six weeks after conception.<\/p>\n
Paxton Smith had submitted an entirely different speech on the effect of the media on young minds\u00a0to school officials for the commencement ceremony at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas on Sunday, but Smith said it was important to use the moment to criticize a\u00a0controversial abortion law\u00a0signed by Gov. Greg Abbott last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI refuse to give up this platform …\u00a0when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Smith called the legislation\u00a0“a\u00a0war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your daughters.”<\/p>\n
“We cannot stay silent,” Smith said to her graduating class.<\/p>\n
Smith was able to finish her speech without interruption. It’s not unusual for school officials to intervene when a student deviates from an approved graduation speech.<\/p>\n
The impromptu speech has prompted the Richardson Independent School District to reevaluate its set of protocols regarding future student speeches.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything that was supposed to be said during graduation was included in a notebook on the podium,\u201d Karen Clardy, RISD school board president, told Lake Highlands Advocate. \u201cThe speech that was delivered was not the one that was submitted, and it was not in the podium book. This student chose to instead use an alternate speech that had not been submitted or approved in advance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new law criticized by\u00a0Smith prevents Texas citizens from getting an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which can take place \u201cas early as six weeks gestation \u2014 or six weeks from a woman\u2019s last menstrual period.\u201d The legislation, which is set to go into effect Sept. 1, would also allow private citizens to sue individuals and abortion providers who violate the ban.<\/p>\n
Smith and other opponents of the bill have argued that this limited time window circumscribes women\u2019s decision-making process.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore they have a chance to decide if they are emotionally, physically and financially stable enough to carry out a full-term pregnancy, before they have the chance to decide if they can take on the responsibility of bringing another human being into the world, that decision is made for them by a stranger,\u201d Smith said,\u00a0according to a video of the speech published by Dallas TV station\u00a0WFAA.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have dreams, hopes and ambitions,\u201d Smith said. \u201cEvery girl here does. We have spent our whole lives working toward\u00a0our futures, and without our consent or input, our control over our futures has been stripped away from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the speech, Smith’s verbal protest has circulated widely on social media, with comedian Sarah Silverman and\u00a0former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton commending\u00a0her for giving the speech.<\/p>\n