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<p>A high school valedictorian pulled a switcheroo on her school at her graduation, trading her administration-approved speech for a powerful defense of abortion rights.</p><p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/18/texas-heartbeat-bill-abortions-law/">Texas governor Greg Abbott just passed a law</a> that would prohibit the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy, which is before the majority of women even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/parenting/abortion-six-weeks-pregnant.html#:~:text=Check%20pregnancy%20tests%20every%20four,six%20weeks%2C%E2%80%9D%20she%20said.">realize that they&#39;re pregnant.</a></p><p>Paxton Smith is the 2021 valedictorian at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, one of the most conservative districts in a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/somethings-happening-in-texas/574873/">notoriously voter-suppressed state.</a> She used her speech as an opportunity to criticize the law and articulate what it could mean for her future, and the futures of her female classmates.</p><p>&quot;I have dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Every girl here does. We have spent our whole lives working towards our futures, and without our consent or input, our control over our futures has been stripped away from us,&quot; Paxton said at the podium, dressed in a cap and gown. &quot;I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail me, that if I&rsquo;m raped, then my hopes and efforts and dreams for myself will no longer be relevant. I hope you can feel how gut-wrenching it is, how dehumanizing it is, to have the autonomy over your own body taken from you.&quot;</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In Texas, Lake Highlands High School valedictorian, Paxton Smith, switched out her approved speech to talk about abortion rights. <a href="https://t.co/4xsoHARDSs">pic.twitter.com/4xsoHARDSs</a></p>&mdash; Kolleen (@littlewhitty) <a href="https://twitter.com/littlewhitty/status/1399982526396043264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>The speech was shared to social media, where it continued to spark discussion.</p><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter" data-attribution-url="https://twitter.com/NancyLeeGrahn/status/1400121894087520257" height="320" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2021-06-02-at-121413-pm-ydOBBv.jpg" width="782" /></div><div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://twitter.com/NancyLeeGrahn/status/1400121894087520257">Twitter</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter" data-attribution-url="https://twitter.com/Kmgtexas/status/1400084624227942403" height="250" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2021-06-02-at-121559-pm-4fLved.jpg" width="788" /></div><div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://twitter.com/Kmgtexas/status/1400084624227942403">Twitter</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wow! Paxton Smith, you are a courageous, brilliant woman. Thank you for using your voice to shed light on the war on women’s autonomy happening in Texas.<br><br>The world needs to hear her three minute speech 👇🏽 <a href="https://t.co/X07QFwPCB9">https://t.co/X07QFwPCB9</a></p>&mdash; Veronica Escobar (@vgescobar) <a href="https://twitter.com/vgescobar/status/1399907416343523328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter" data-attribution-url="https://twitter.com/samwhiteout/status/1400128114865356801" height="284" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2021-06-02-at-123730-pm-T5pVpQ.jpg" width="790" /></div><div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://twitter.com/samwhiteout/status/1400128114865356801">Twitter</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p> </p><p>While many celebrated her for using her platform to speak about the issue, others criticized her for it. Graduations are a place to hear &quot;Oh, The Places You&#39;ll Go,&quot; not &quot;register to vote.&quot;</p><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter" data-attribution-url="https://twitter.com/JdKurn/status/1400099919235534855" height="366" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2021-06-02-at-121941-pm-W7SXu8.jpg" width="780" /></div><div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://twitter.com/JdKurn/status/1400099919235534855">Twitter</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Twitter" data-attribution-url="https://twitter.com/MortsSources/status/1400117728384532484" height="314" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2021-06-02-at-122028-pm-hx1jQ5.jpg" width="776" /></div><div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://twitter.com/MortsSources/status/1400117728384532484">Twitter</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>Here is the complete text of the speech, transcribed by <a href="https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2021/06/lake-highlands-high-valedictorian-pulls-switcheroo-on-commencement-speech/"><em>D Magazine.</em></a></p><blockquote> <p>As we leave high school we need to make our voices heard. I was going to get up here and talk to you about TV and content and media because those are things that are very important to me. However, in light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in this state.</p> </blockquote><blockquote> <p>Recently the heartbeat bill was passed in Texas. Starting in September, there will be a ban on abortions that take place after 6 weeks of pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. 6 weeks. Most women don&rsquo;t even realize they&rsquo;re pregnant by then.</p> </blockquote><blockquote> <p>And so, before they have the time 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 into the world, the decision has been made for them by a stranger. A decision that will affect the rest of their lives.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><blockquote> <p>I have dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Every girl here does. We have spent our whole lives working towards our futures, and without our consent or input, our control over our futures has been stripped away from us. I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail me, that if I&rsquo;m raped, then my hopes and efforts and dreams for myself will no longer be relevant. I hope you can feel how gut-wrenching it is, how dehumanizing it is, to have the autonomy over your own body taken from you.</p> </blockquote><blockquote> <p>And I&rsquo;m talking about this today, on a day as important as this, on a day honoring the students&rsquo; efforts in twelve years of schooling, on a day where we&rsquo;re all brought together, on a day where you will be the most inclined to hear a voice like mine, a woman&rsquo;s voice, to tell you that this is a problem.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><blockquote> <p>A problem that can&rsquo;t wait. I refuse to give up this platform to promote complacency and peace, when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights. A war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your daughters.</p> <p>We cannot stay silent.</p> </blockquote><p>Watch the whole speech here.</p><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe oembed-full-width"><div><div class="video-correcting-container" style="left: 0px;width: 100%;height: 0px;position: relative;padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mrfe27VDuRA?start=270&feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="top: 0px;left: 0px;width: 100%;height: 100%;position: absolute;"></iframe></div></div></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

People react to Texas high school valedictorian's surprise speech about abortion rights.

A high school valedictorian pulled a switcheroo on her school at her graduation, trading her administration-approved speech for a powerful defense of abortion rights.Texas governor Greg Abbott just passed a law that would prohibit the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy, which is before the majority of women even realize that they&#39;re pregnant.Paxton Smith is the 2021 valedictorian at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, one of the most conservative districts in a notoriously voter-suppressed state. She used her speech as an opportunity to criticize the law and articulate what it could mean for her future, and the futures of her female classmates.&quot;I have dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Every girl here does. We have spent our whole lives working towards our futures, and without our consent or input, our control over our futures has been stripped away from us,&quot; Paxton said at the podium, dressed in a cap and gown. &quot;I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail me, that if I&rsquo;m raped, then my hopes and efforts and dreams for myself will no longer be relevant. I hope you can feel how gut-wrenching it is, how dehumanizing it is, to have the autonomy over your own body taken from you.&quot;In Texas, Lake Highlands High School valedictorian, Paxton Smith, switched out her approved speech to talk about abortion rights. pic.twitter.com/4xsoHARDSs&mdash; Kolleen (@littlewhitty) June 2, 2021 The speech was shared to social media, where it continued to spark discussion.TwitterTwitterWow! Paxton Smith, you are a courageous, brilliant woman. Thank you for using your voice to shed light on the war on women’s autonomy happening in Texas.The world needs to hear her three minute speech 👇🏽 https://t.co/X07QFwPCB9&mdash; Veronica Escobar (@vgescobar) June 2, 2021 Twitter While many celebrated her for using her platform to speak about the issue, others criticized her for it. Graduations are a place to hear &quot;Oh, The Places You&#39;ll Go,&quot; not &quot;register to vote.&quot;TwitterTwitterHere is the complete text of the speech, transcribed by D Magazine. As we leave high school we need to make our voices heard. I was going to get up here and talk to you about TV and content and media because those are things that are very important to me. However, in light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in this state.  Recently the heartbeat bill was passed in Texas. Starting in September, there will be a ban on abortions that take place after 6 weeks of pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. 6 weeks. Most women don&rsquo;t even realize they&rsquo;re pregnant by then.  And so, before they have the time 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 into the world, the decision has been made for them by a stranger. A decision that will affect the rest of their lives.  I have dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Every girl here does. We have spent our whole lives working towards our futures, and without our consent or input, our control over our futures has been stripped away from us. I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail me, that if I&rsquo;m raped, then my hopes and efforts and dreams for myself will no longer be relevant. I hope you can feel how gut-wrenching it is, how dehumanizing it is, to have the autonomy over your own body taken from you.  And I&rsquo;m talking about this today, on a day as important as this, on a day honoring the students&rsquo; efforts in twelve years of schooling, on a day where we&rsquo;re all brought together, on a day where you will be the most inclined to hear a voice like mine, a woman&rsquo;s voice, to tell you that this is a problem.  A problem that can&rsquo;t wait. I refuse to give up this platform to promote complacency and peace, when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights. A war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your daughters. We cannot stay silent. Watch the whole speech here.

A high school valedictorian pulled a switcheroo on her school at her graduation, trading her administration-approved speech for a powerful defense of abortion rights.  Texas governor Greg Abbott just passed a law that would prohibit the...