High School Valedictorian Swaps Speech To Speak Out Against Texas' New Abortion Law
The speech that high school valedictorian Paxton Smith gave from inside her graduation gown was not what she had shown to school. So she took a deep breath before starting it, wondering if she'd be allowed to share her thoughts about Texas' new restrictive abortion law.
"When there is a war on my body and a war on my rights, I cannot leave this platform to promote decency and peace," Smith said in his speech at the graduation ceremony of Lake Highlands High School in Dallas.
Despite his text swaps, Smith ended his speech and received encouraging cheer from his classmates and staff. Since his address on Sunday, video of the incident has gone viral, and Smith has been praised for speaking his mind. (You can read the full transcript of his speech below.)
Smith said, "I have dreams, and hopes and ambitions. Every girl who graduates today does." She later said, "And without our input and our consent, our control over that future has been taken away from us."
Smith concluded his speech, saying, "We can't keep quiet."
His remarks came less than two weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed new restrictions into law that banned abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat could be detected — at six weeks. Go.
As Smith noted, many women don't realize they are pregnant at six weeks. The law does not allow exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
Senior intended to use his speech to talk about TV and the media, but, he said, "it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in the state." "
Smith says she has received hundreds of messages of support since videos of her graduation speech were shared widely on social media. In many ways, the speech went better than he anticipated, especially since the school raised the possibility of downplaying the comments if they deviated from the accepted script.
"I thought the microphone was going to cut in a couple minutes, but it didn't," Smith told local TV station WFAA in Dallas.
In a statement released to local media, the Richardson Independent School District, which includes Lake Highlands, says that students choose their own messages to share upon graduation. But given that Smith's speech was not approved and "not in the podium book" of comments for the incident, the district says it will look at ways to prevent a similar switch in the future.
Smith's father, Russell Smith, tells the Lake Highlands Advocate that he is proud of his daughter.
"It was something he felt was important, and he had the nerve, determination, and courage to put himself out there and speak his mind," he said. "So few people demonstrate this level of maturity and chivalry, regardless of age."
The text of Smith's speech, as penned by NPR:
I'm usually not very good at expressing my gratitude to the people I care about. But I would like to say "thank you" to the coach. I think he has a bigger role in my life than I can understand. [deep breath]
Okay.
As we leave high school, we need to make our voices heard. Today, I was going to talk about TV and media and content, because that's something that's very important to me. However, in the light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in the state.
Recently, the Heartbeat Bill was passed in Texas. From September, there will be a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, even if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
Six weeks. That's what women get. And so before they realize - most of them don't realize they are pregnant until six weeks - so before they have a chance to decide if they are emotionally, physically and financially stable Before they can carry out a perfect pregnancy, they have a chance to decide if they can take on the responsibility of bringing another human into the world, a decision made by a stranger to them.
A decision that will affect the rest of their lives is made by a stranger.
I have dreams and hopes and ambitions. Today every girl who graduates does. And we have spent our whole life working towards our future. And without our input and without our consent, our control over that future has been taken away from us. [applause]
I fear that if my contraceptives fail, I fear that if I am raped, my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter. I hope you can feel how visceral this is. I hope you can realize how inhuman it is, to have autonomy over your body taken away from you.
And that's what I'm talking about today - on this momentous day, on a day that honors 12 years of hard academic work, on the day we all gather together, on the day you're most interested to hear. There's a voice like mine, a woman's voice - to let you know this is a problem, and it's a problem that can't wait.
And when there is war on my body and there is war on my rights, I cannot leave this platform to promote decency and peace. [Cheers] A war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your daughters.