I have had three children. My third child is severely disabled and that pregnancy and delivery was scary and full of medical emergencies and life threatening situations. I personally know that pregnancy and childbirth is a beautiful experience, but sometimes can be extremely medically challenging. That’s why it is essential that women have full and complete access to reproductive care.
The recent attack on reproductive rights is causing many women in Texas and across the country to be denied medical care which can result in death or serious medical illness to the mother and the fetus.
The Dallas Morning News recently reported the following: "One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn’t offer an ultrasound. The baby later died." When I read about these tragedies, my heart literally hurt.
Read the full article here: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-health/2024/04/19/ers-refused-to-treat-pregnant-women-leaving-one-to-miscarry-in-a-lobby-restroom/
We must stand up for healthcare freedom for women in Texas and across America. When Roe v. Wade was overturned, the Supreme Court held that women’s reproductive health should be decided by the states, not the federal courts. That means that these cases have been transferred in Texas to those that we elect to the Texas legislature, and I am running to represent this community in the Texas legislature.
Since the fall of Roe, Texas has now outlawed women’s reproductive health decisions with no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. Kate Cox, who had to flee the State of Texas when her life was at risk with a non-viable pregnancy, was not helped by the Texas Supreme Court. The only way we can fix the terrible situation, which the Texas legislature has placed all pregnant women in, is to elect representatives to represent us in Austin who will fight to change this law.
I believe that reproductive health care decisions should be made between a woman and her family, her doctor and her God - not legislators and judges legislating from the bench. When my husband and I made the choice to have our disabled child and not terminate my pregnancy, there was no politician in the room - and there should never be a politician in that sacred place. My doctor was able to tell me all of my options with that dangerous pregnancy and he didn’t face a jail sentence by giving me my full reproductive health choices. If my doctor and I had that same conversation today, he could face life imprisonment, loss of his medical license and a $100,000 fine. This is barbaric. This is wrong. This is not Christian. We must change this.
When elected, I will push for legislation that supports women's access to healthcare services, so that women can make informed decisions about their health and future. This will be one of the most important issues debated in the next legislative session in Austin after the next election. For the women of McLennan County, and the men who love them, I respectfully submit that we need to be represented by a woman - a woman who has walked in these shoes - in the next session of the Texas House of Representatives.
This attack on women and our access to healthcare must stop. I ask for your vote on Nov. 5, 2024 so we can send a woman to Austin that will stand with the women of McLennan County and fight for our freedom to make our own healthcare decisions. The lives of women and our children and grandchildren depend on it.