The fiftieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade has all of us thinking about where we are today, and how we got here.  And in this first year after the disastrous Dobbs decision, we know that we have work to do.  Where do we go from here?

Well, that question has me thinking again about Texas women.  Women in Texas—and in states across the country—are facing a full assault on our health, privacy, dignity, and freedom.  Here in Texas the cruel SB8 law and the trigger law following Dobbs have created confusion, chaos, and fear. But they have also galvanized people in Texas and across the country. And we are fighting back.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again and again and again.  We have to remember that, while Texas gave us SB8, it also gave us Roe v. Wade in the first place.

Texas gave us Sarah Weddington, who in her mid-20s filed Roe v. Wade with a group of Texas women challenging the system, and won it in the Supreme Court.

Texas gave us Barbara Jordan, who spoke the truth in the halls of power in Austin and in Washington, and restored Americans’ faith in the Constitution with her own.

Texas gave us Ann Richards, who opened government to everyone, who when asked what she would have done differently had she known how long her tenure would be said she would have “raised more hell.”

And Texas has given us so many more fearless, fabulous women.  We don’t have to look only to our history.  Texas has amazing leaders working today in every possible way to restore our rights—leading national reproductive rights and justice organizations, fighting in our legislature, and organizing our next generation to lead on these issues.

So, on this anniversary, we take from these Texas women a guide of what we must do now:

challenge the system,

speak the truth,

raise more hell,

and win elections.

That’s what we are working to do every single day on #TeamLizzie.  Your support and commitment are vital to our effort. Thank you.  We have a lot of work to do.

But I know that, together, we can do anything,