After I got off work yesterday, I hurried downtown to take
my opportunity to speak out against HB60, along with hundreds of other men and
women of Texas. I hadn’t had dinner. My children were anxiously awaiting my
return for the dozens of projects they want to do and things they want to tell
me at the end of every day. But to stand by and do nothing while the committee debated
was not possible.
It was interesting to listen to the testimony. Those who
stood in favor of the bill fell into two categories. The pathetically
ill-informed, who often resorted to calling upon God to fill in the gaps of
their testimony, and the sad, deeply personal stories of a few who had either
been coerced into abortion or who had chosen to continue a pregnancy with a
terribly flawed fetus that could not live. While their stories were touching,
it was interesting that they failed to see that through their words shone the
true value of the choice that they were speaking against. Of course, those
speaking against the bill were generally, but not always women, highly educated and
well-informed, though often young, nervous, and in some cases nearly incoherent
with emotion.
The testimony dragged on into the night. I kept checking my
phone, but after my husband texted me that he had fed the kids Torchy’s Tacos
and put them snugly to bed, I determined to stay until the dawn or later to
have my say. Unfortunately, that time never came. In an unprecedented move, the
chairman closed the proceedings while at least 200 still waited to speak,
telling us that we were becoming repetitive. We stood and shouted in outrage.
We refused to leave. We asked the
sympathetic members of the committee (all women, by the way) to intervene in
our behalf. The chair agreed finally to hear 30 more minutes of testimony. We selected a few of those who were oldest or
had traveled the longest or who had great credentials to speak on our
behalf. The chair complained bitterly of
our lack of respect, often interrupting speakers who had travelled across the state and waited for hours to remind us about his right to respect. I left the chamber at 1:30am and dragged myself home, too tired to eat but too upset to sleep.
So, since I did not have the chance to stand and speak last
night, here is my testimony.
My name is Geraldine Mongold, representing myself and Faith
Action for Women in Need, and I am against HB60. Mr. Chairman, you tell me that
you have treated me and the others here with respect. Sir, I know exactly what
respect looks like. Respect is not calling a special session in order to ram
anti-choice legislation through the legislature. Respect is not closing most of
the abortion clinics in the state and calling it an improvement in women’s
health. Respect is not trying create a de-facto ban on abortion, when safe and
legal abortion is supported by the clear majority of Texans. Respect is not
burning up the three minutes people are allowed to speak with your own
reiteration of the procedures or grand-standing or cutting them off before
their time is up. Respect is not wandering in and out
of the chamber when men and women tell the most intimate stories of their lives. Respect is not shoving an ultrasound wand inside a woman’s vagina for a
painful, medically-unnecessary state-mandated rape because she should have the
bad fortune to need an abortion or even because she is miscarrying her wanted
child. I grew up in a Texas that had scientifically accurate sex education. I
grew up in a Texas where a well-equipped and fully funded Planned Parenthood
was around the corner to provide the high-quality health care and family
planning that an uninsured teenager needed to ensure she could manage her
fertility and make her own choices in life. I used to be so proud of being a
Texan. But now, I am ashamed. When friends tell me “if you’ve got a uterus, you’ve
got to leave that state,” I have to agree that they speak the truth. I fear for
my daughter's future in a state that values the right to carry a gun on the
college campus she attends over her right not just to bodily integrity and
choice, but her right to life itself. Because HB60, if enacted will cause even
more deaths of Texas woman, already suffering from cuts to women’s health
programs and the failure of this state to expand Medicaid coverage. This bill
is a hateful attack on Texas women and their families and must not be enacted.
