State Trooper Forcibly Remove Woman from Texas Hearing on Reproductive Health, Video

From Daily Kos, July 9: Click here for the Youtube video of the woman's presentation at a Texas senate committee hearing, and the state trooper's forcible removal of the woman. and here for the parade of cheering supporters.

Interview with Victorian Prude the woman forcibly removed from testifying in Texas

byHorace Boothroyd IIIFollow

 
 
• 4 Comments / 4 New

This is a quick interview with the woman featured in the video posted by annrose

Feel free to ignore any questions you would not care to respond to no explanation needed. Also feel free to add anything you would like to say that I don't cover or ask about.

First off, what was your prepared statement?

I'd prepared a statement outlining Milla Perry Jones, sister of Governor Rick Perry's involvement as head lobbyist for allied surgical centers and doctor-owned hospitals. As the Texas Observer explained its Dec 2012 "Sister Act" article, doctor owned facilities are notorious for driving up costs because of financial incentive to overcharge for tests, procedures, services. They've thrown over $4,000,000 dollars at Texas politics and now HB2/SB1 would mandate upgrades that benefit yet another industry the Perrys have ties to.

Did they explain why you were forcibly removed?

There was no explanation. Senator Jane Nelson tried to say I was being disrespectful but how would she know? I barely got to give the complete performance review of every member on the committee. Pointing out that Sen. Donna Campbell is an ophthalmologist is not disrespectful when she asserts in a state hearing that she should be THE expert on reproductive health. What was disrespectful was the parade of anti-choice zealots and misogynists who got up for 13 hours and called women murderers, killers, promiscuous, thoughtless, and selfish. Not a peep from committee chair Nelson on those.

Are you going to pursue legal action for the First Amendment violation involved in removing you and stopping you from petitioning your government for redress?

I haven't decided yet, I am currently talking with people in Austin about that possibility.

What has your reception been like after speaking in your community?

The first reaction was a true shock. And that was the hundreds of people who applauded me as I was escorted out of Capitol and who stayed with me so police couldn't isolate me. You can see some of it here. Parade as girl is escorted out of testimony Next, I came home to hundreds of new followers on social media. And finally, the texts, tweets, emails, and phone calls haven't stopped from friends and family alike. Texans are as angry as I sounded. We don't benefit at all from the polite oppression of Texas legislature "decorum". Dissent and rebellion continue to drive this fight.

Would you like to share the process of getting to the microphone to speak?

I drove from Central Texas at 5:30 am and testified at little after 11pm.  It was a long day but I and many others have been used to it since our first citizen's filibuster on June 20th. Hours of watching antichoicers insult and talk to women, watching awful pseudoscience continued to enrage me. Finally, after I saw a woman named Vanessa (@lochnessa) testify angrily about the heartbreaking medically necessary abortion she had to have after countless IVF attempts, I knew I had to rewrite. Their baby had rare form of spina bifida and a 20 week ban would have hurt them. After she spoke an antichoice next to her cruelly said "I know people who adopted two children with spina bifida". Not a word from the chair. I scrapped my speech and began a rewrite that would call out each member of committee for their lack of expertise or past bad record on women's health. Took about 5 more hours until I was finally called along with the rest of Group 6.

Are you intending to run for office in the future?

I have worked on 2 gubernatorial campaigns and one presidential campaign. I haven't really liked what I've seen of the candidate life but if any group of people felt I could help, I'd consider it.

Addendum, a letter from medical professionals to the politicians interfering in their profession.

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO HORACE BOOTHROYD III ON TUE JUL 09, 2013 AT 11:54 AM PDT.

ALSO REPUBLISHED BY SEX, BODY, AND GENDER.

Vs. McCain myths: Abortion

Somehow, John McCain's deviation from a few of today's conservative standards has lead many people to believe that his views are moderate on every issue. The record will indicate that on several issues Senator McCain is not moderate; today let's address abortion.

On February 2, 2008, National Public Radio ran a "Weekend Edition" story by Julie Rovner, "Misperceptions About McCain's Abortion Stance." She contrasted the belief of many Republicans that McCain is pro-choice with his public statements. She quoted him from a 2007 appearance on "Meet the Press,"

"I have stated time after time after time that Roe v Wade was a bad decision, that I support a woman — the rights of the unborn — that I have fought for human rights and human dignity throughout my entire political career."

David O'Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee said that McCain had been "very consistent" in his opposition to abortion. He said that the RTL Committee had supported him in every one of his senate races. This appreciation of McCain is reflected in the Committee's rating of McCain. In 2005-2006 the Committee gave him a 75% rating. And in 2003-2004 the Committee gave him an 82% rating.

How have abortion rights advocates rated him? The National Abortion Rights Action League gave him a zero rating in each of these years. The February NPR report added: NARAL's president, Nancy Keegan, noted that "He voted against family planning, he voted against the freedom of access to clinic entrances — that was about violence against women in clinics." She further noted, "He voted against funding for teen pregnancy-prevention programs, and making sure that abstinence only was medically accurate. This is very, very extreme."

See the interest group ratings here.


McCain often responds to queries about positions on major issues and then responds by saying that he's uninformed on the issue. (For snippets of his confusion, see Brave New Film's compilation, "McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare," toward the upper right of this page.) A July 23, 2008 NPR "Morning Edition" report noted that Carla Fiorina, a McCain adviser, complained about health insurance plans that will cover Viagra, but will not cover contraceptives for women.
A reporter asked McCain on July 10 about Fiorina's concern and about McCain's vote against legislation requiring insurance companies to cover contraceptives. McCain responded, "I certainly don't want to discuss that issue." He also said that he didn't know enough about the issue to give her an answer and that he cast thousands of votes. Watch him squirm as this exchange was recorded on CNN.


Let's remind on-the-fence voters about his stance on contraceptives and abortion. Keep in mind that two Supreme Court Justices are might retire during the next administration: John Paul Steven will be 89 next April. Ruth Bader Ginsburg will 76 next March. These are the court's two most liberal justices. Do we want an anti-birth control, anti-abortion president selecting their replacements?

NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA ENDORSES SEN. BARACK OBAMA -endorsement press release

The Choice is clear!

Download this National Abortion Rights Action League web page and comparison chart or the PDF flyer: "Sen. Obama or Sen. McCain"