Brave graduate takes on Texas legislators

By Rebecca Aguilar

A few weeks ago, Paxton Smith was a high school senior ready to graduate and quietly go off to college. But now, the valedictorian is a worldwide viral sensation after delivering a surprise commencement speech against the Texas “Heartbeat Bill.” 

“The speech has been blowing up everywhere, and I have been getting so many texts and interviews,” Smith told White Rock Lake Weekly Thursday in a phone conversation. 

Smith stood before her graduating class at Lake Highlands High school on Sunday, May 30, ready to deliver a speech on mass media consumption. It was a speech approved by the principal. At the podium, she took a piece of paper out from underneath the collar of her gown.  

“I thought to myself, here we go! We’re going to see how this goes.” 

The 18-year-old switched speeches. Smith had one thing on her mind: the recent “Heartbeat bill” signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott. It would ban abortions as early as six weeks, even if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. 

Smith took a deep breath and shared from her heart. “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,” Smith said as she thought her microphone was going to be cut off. It never happened. She kept going, “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.” 

This legislative move was a war on rights, she added. “A war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, daughters … we cannot stay silent,” the valedictorian concluded. The audience cheered and clapped. 

After she was done, Smith said one school administrator praised her. “He came up to me and gave me a fist bump, and he said, ‘that took a lot of bravery.’” But three women from the school also approached her. Smith said they were more threatening, “Those ladies told me they were considering holding my diploma. And we got a text later that night that one of the staff members had asked them to hold my diploma.” 

Millions of people on social media have viewed her speech. Smith has also been featured on the “Today Show,” “ABC News,” in The Washington Post and even Teen Vogue. Hundreds of women and girls on social media now call Smith “brave, courageous and a hero.” She looks at herself as just a teen who had to stand up for what she believed in — reproductive rights. 

Her speech even got the attention of Hillary Clinton, who gave her kudos on Twitter by writing, “This took guts. Thank you for not staying silent, Paxton.” Smith couldn’t believe she heard from the former First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State and democratic presidential nominee. “Oh my gosh, that was crazy,” said Smith. 

District reaction to Smith’s speech was issued via an official statement. Tim Clark, executive director of communications for the Richardson Independent School District (RISD), said “RISD will review student speech protocols in advance of next year’s graduation ceremonies.”

 He added that the following statement appears as part of every RISD graduation program: “The students who shall be speaking at the graduation ceremony were selected based on neutral criteria to deliver messages of the students’ own choices. The content of each student speaker’s message is the private, voluntary expression of the individual student and does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position or expression of the District or its employees.”

The Lake Highlands graduate is headed to the University of Texas at Austin in the fall, where she still hasn’t decided what to study. Smith says her advice to future valedictorians who will decide what to say in their last message to the class, “It can be very scary, but do what you know is right for you.”

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