Texas Valedictorian Changes Her Speech At The Last Minute To Shame The State’s Anti-Abortion Bill

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a law banning abortion from as early as 6 weeks—before most women know they are pregnant. And Paxton Smith has a problem with it.

The valedictorian of Lake Highlands High School’s Class of 2021 decided to abandon her original, approved speech and pulled a last-second switcheroo to talk about what’s most important to her: women’s rights.

When Smith came up to the microphone, she took out a piece of paper secretly tucked into her shirt and addressed the school with confidence. But her powerful words have spread way beyond Lake Highlands. Clips of her remarks have quickly gone viral on social media and are now making headlines around the world.

Here’s a video of Paxton’s speech

The law bans abortions after the detection of what anti-abortion campaigners call a fetal heartbeat. It is also unique in giving any individual the right to sue anyone who knowingly “aids and abets” an abortion, meaning that people could sue, say, friends and family who help someone obtain an abortion. Or an Uber driver who simply drove the woman.

Healthcare workers and women’s rights groups have heavily criticized the law, which will take effect in September if it is not stopped by a court.

In May, Texas became the latest and largest US state to pass abortion restrictions. The news came just days after the US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could upend the nationwide legal right to abortion, laid out in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.