A resolution to honor Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood, was pulled from the Texas House floor Thursday following fierce backlash from a coalition of conservative lawmakers.
Richards led Planned Parenthood from 2006 to 2018, during which time the organization performed millions of abortions nationwide. She was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Joe Biden and remained a fixture in left-wing political organizing until her death earlier this year.
The measure had been placed on the House’s memorial calendar by the Local and Consent Calendars Committee, chaired by State Rep. Jared Patterson (R–Frisco). Included in the bundle alongside Richards were resolutions honoring conservative grassroots leader Jill Glover and Corey Comperatore, a father killed while shielding his family during an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
But instead of quietly passing with the rest of the slate, the Richards resolution became a flashpoint. Members of the House demanded a record vote and spent over an hour excoriating the decision to include Richards—one of the most prominent figures in abortion-industry history—as deserving of honor in a Republican-led chamber.
State Rep. Andy Hopper (R–Decatur), the author of the Glover resolution, took the floor to oppose the calendar entirely.
“If you vote today for this calendar, you are voting to honor a woman who is largely responsible for the extermination of millions of young Americans,” Hopper said. “I believe if Jill Glover were with us today, she would never ask you to vote for this calendar.”
Adding fuel to the fire, Patterson had previously blocked the Glover resolution from being heard on the floor earlier in the session.
State Rep. Nate Schatzline (R–Fort Worth) called it a matter of conscience.
“A yes vote to this calendar today is to silence the voices of those who have no voice,” he said, urging members to vote down the calendar as a statement for the unborn.
Earlier in the day, multiple members raised parliamentary inquiries, being told that House rules did not allow them to pull the Richards resolution for a separate vote. Even if every Republican registered a “no” in the journal, the measure would still pass unless the entire calendar was rejected.
State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington) stated the choice plainly, saying, “What we’re doing is we’re forcing a record vote to remove this so that we can honor the 60 plus million innocent, unborn, defenseless children that were murdered in the U.S.—the organization that did it, she was in charge of.”
Democrats pushed back, defending the tradition of the memorial calendar and asserting that the chamber should rise above ideology when recognizing those who’ve passed. State Reps. Ramon Romero (D–Fort Worth) and Ann Johnson (D–Houston) were among several who spoke in favor of keeping the calendar intact.
It wasn’t just Democrats who were vocal against the move. Republican State Rep. Matt Shaheen (Plano) was hostile to his colleagues who were urging a no vote on the resolution, going as far as to be the only member to oppose giving time for debate on the issue.
Facing growing resistance and an impending record vote, State Rep. Charlie Geren (R–Fort Worth) eventually withdrew his motion to adopt the calendar and sent it back to committee—effectively killing the resolution for now.
For conservative members, it marked a moment of unity.
“Today is a major victory for pro-life conservatives in the House and throughout Texas and a testament to what Republicans can accomplish when we stand together against evil,” State Rep. Brent Money (R–Greenville) told Texas Scorecard. “It’s unfortunate that Chairman Patterson insisted on bringing this resolution before the House after weeks of public complaints and private conversations about this resolution. Ultimately, his efforts failed, and the Texas House sent a strong message that we will defend innocent life and Texas values.”
“Texas will never honor those who mass murder our unborn children! We will speak for the 63.6 million babies that have been murdered by the Abortion Industrial Complex!” wrote Schatzline in a social media post.
Vanessa Sivadge, the president of Protecting Texas Children, said, “This resolution showed contempt for the people of Texas who have fought tirelessly to protect life and defend our children. It is even more offensive that Chairman Jared Patterson put this resolution before the House as part of a package in an attempt to deceive voters to ensure its passage.”
Tinderholt, meanwhile, emphasized that the result was an example of what can happen when Republican members work together.
“Republicans working with Republicans can work,” said Tinderholt. “Let’s do more of it.”
