Dallas Valedictorian Changes Her Speech At The Last Minute To Advocate For Abortion Rights

Paxton Smith had a speech prepared for her graduation. But then she decided to switch it up at the last minute. That maneuver came with a lot of risks — for one, the administration could have kicked her off the stage, or silenced her mic. She also risked her diploma. But for Paxton, it was all worth it.

Paxton graduated with the Lake Highlands High School class of 2021. According to D Magazine, she had an academic average of 104.93, which is phenomenal. Her original speech was going to be about the media and how the media influenced her life.

But then something major happened. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the "heartbeat bill," which more or less makes it impossible for women in the state to have an abortion if necessary. The bill is problematic for many reasons, mostly because it's anti-women.

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The law makes abortions impossible after six weeks. The issue is, many women don't even realize they're pregnant during that time. It's also harmful for babies who don't develop correctly, if this bill is fully passed without any exceptions. That means that some moms might be forced to deliver a stillborn baby, unless permissions are granted. One thing has been made certain — women who are victims of incest or rape aren't an exclusion. The bill is set to start in September.

Paxton talked about her decision to change her speech with her three parents. Two were fully on board. One thought it might be a risk, but let Paxton do what she wanted to do. The speech took about three minutes, but at the end, Paxton's confidence truly took over. Not only did she own the speech, but she got a large amount of applause.

"As we leave high school we need to make our voices heard," Paxton said in her speech. "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," she continued. "Starting in September, there will be a ban on abortions that take place after six weeks of pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. Six weeks. Most women don’t even realize they'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," she continued. "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'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," Paxton stated. "And I'm talking about this today, on a day as important as this, on a day honoring the students' efforts in twelve years of schooling, on a day where we're all brought together, on a day where you will be the most inclined to hear a voice like mine, a woman's voice, to tell you that this is a problem. A problem that can'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," she concluded. Not only was it an important speech, but it was delivered perfectly.

Two days after giving the speech that would soon turn viral, Paxton admitted to D Magazine that she felt really good standing up there to discuss the topic. "It feels great," she said. "It also feels a little weird. Whenever I have opinions that can be considered political or controversial, I keep them to myself because I don't like to gain attention for that kind of stuff. But I'm glad that I could do something, and I'm glad that it's getting attention. It just feels weird for me personally, that I'm linked to the attention that the speech got."

But the speech had all the best reasons for going viral. It's important for kids to know what's happening in the news. It's not lame to be interested in current events. And this is an extremely limiting bill that will only cause harm to women. Paxton stood up at a time when many others would have been afraid to openly discuss this issue. As she said in the speech itself, silence just won't cut it.

Even Hillary Clinton took notice, sharing Paxton's speech on her Facebook page. "This took guts," she said. "Thank you for not staying silent, Paxton." At the time, Paxton likely had no idea that the speech would literally be heard by some of the most noteworthy women in politics.

As she told the Lake Highlands Advocate, she did think about possibly giving her abortion rights speech at a different venue. Then she realized that this is a topic everyone needs to talk about. This bill affects every woman of childbearing age — and their families.

"A large part of the reason I made the speech at graduation was that was the only place I could think of where I could reach so many people from so many different backgrounds," she said. "It did cross my mind that this is a family event where people are cheering for their kids, but this is a universal topic, and it affects everyone. I felt it need to be said."

Paxton's parent Russell Smith couldn't have been prouder of his daughter. "It was something that she felt was important, and she had the nerve, determination and boldness to put herself out there and say her piece," Russell said. "So few people demonstrate this level of maturity and poise, regardless of age." And that's absolutely true. Hopefully Paxton's powerful speech will inspire other young women to speak their mind.