Friday, July 12, 2013

PRESS RELEASE: Five Women Chain Themselves in Senate Gallery to Protest HB2

Sarah AD
PRESS RELEASE: Five Women Chain Themselves in Senate Gallery to Protest HB2

This evening, the Texas State Senate debated HB2. In opposition to this legislation five brave, female, nonviolent, pro-choice activists chained themselves to the brass banisters of the Senate Gallery. They wore white gowns to symbolize a unifying peace but painted blood on the fabric to signify the self-inflected violence and death desperate women seeking fast or illegal abortions will face if HB2 goes into effect and women's healthcare facilities are shut down.

... One of the five activists and a former paramedic, Jamie, was chained longest to the Senate Gallery banister. She released this statement prior to her arrest: "As this whole process gets more and more intense, I feel the need to express why I am here at the Capitol today. I am very concerned that the passage of this legislation (sb1/hb2), will inevitably lead to the closure of 37 reproductive healthcare clinics across the state of Texas. This will cut off safe and affordable healthcare to hundreds of thousands of rural Texas women. These clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, offer many vital services such as birth control, pap smears, mammograms, and safe, legal pregnancy terminations. If these clinics close their doors, women without affordable health insurance may have to face the difficult decision of getting that lump checked out or feeding their families. Or even worse, attempting to self inflict an abortion to terminate an unwanted pregnancy out of fear and desperation. This is extremely dangerous, and I have witnessed this myself in my line of work. I will never forget the young 20-yr old woman that drank bleach in an attempt to terminate. All I want is safe and accessible healthcare for the women in my beautiful community, and women around the world. I would like women to be empowered to make their own decisions about their own bodies and decide their own fate. Whether or not you agree with abortions on a moral level, I truly believe that every woman deserves to make that decision for herself. Sorry if this isn't in the most clear format, I have been awake for a very very long time. I love you all!!!"

For immediate media inquiries regarding this incident:

Sarah Dickerson
Member, Rise Up Texas
P: 208-874-3459
E: sdickers10@gmail.com
 
copied from facebook to post on twitter