00:00I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is.
00:04I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you.
00:20Today I was going to talk about TV and media and content because it's something that's very important to me.
00:26However, under light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in the state.
00:37Recently, the heartbeat bill was passed in Texas.
00:41Starting in September, there will be a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.
00:52Six weeks. That's all women get.
00:55And so before they realize, most of them don't realize that they're pregnant by six weeks.
01:00So before they have a chance to decide if they are emotionally, physically, and financially stable enough to carry out a full-term pregnancy,
01:10before they have the chance to decide if they can take on the responsibility of bringing another human being into the world,
01:17that decision is made for them by a stranger.
01:20A decision that will affect the rest of their lives is made by a stranger.
01:25I have dreams and hopes and ambitions.
01:29Every girl graduating today does.
01:32And we have spent our entire lives working towards our future.
01:37And without our input and without our consent, our control over that future has been stripped away from us.
01:45I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped,
01:53then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter.
01:59I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is.
02:04I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you.
02:13And I'm talking about this today, on a day as important as this.
02:17On a day honoring 12 years of hard academic work.
02:21On a day where we are all gathered together.
02:24On a day where you are most inclined to listen to a voice like mine, a woman's voice,
02:29to tell you that this is a problem.
02:32And it's a problem that cannot wait.
02:35And I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace
02:41when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights.
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