I’m a woman, a former IVF patient, a mother who refused an abortion when warned I might be carrying a disabled child and I’m an advocate for my disabled daughter. From all these perspectives, one thing is glaringly evident, it’s time we take seriously the state of women’s healthcare in Texas.

​

Pregnancy and childbirth are beautiful things, gifts from God. However, many times a pregnancy can have serious medical complications that can lead to death or serious illness of the mother or fetus. Texas law provides that doctors and medical staff who assist pregnant mothers in medical crises can face life imprisonment, a $100,000 fine and loss of their medical license. Anyone who helps a pregnant woman in a crisis can also be sued for $10,000. Pregnant women are therefore being denied medical treatment and much needed advice because of these hateful laws.

​

The Texas Legislature loves to punish women after they have become pregnant through waiting period requirements and sonogram viewing requirements, but now they are punishing pregnant women with threats to their lives and their fertility. 

This is barbaric. This is not Christian.

​

If we want to stop abortions, we need to start looking at ways to educate our girls on what causes pregnancy and how to prevent it. My mother taught me these important facts when I was in elementary school decades ago. We teach our girls how to drive, how to add, how to read, but we do a terrible job in teaching them how to become a mother at the right time and with the right person.

​

Republicans want to ban all abortions. Democrats want to restore Roe v. Wade. Due to the terrible gerrymandering of voting districts in Texas, our state government is dominated by Republicans who have promised in the next legislative session to propose even more restrictions on women’s reproductive health choices. 

​

That’s why it’s time we elect a woman in McLennan County - a woman who has experienced these issues from multiple perspectives – who, at a very minimum, will push for exceptions to strict reproductive policy that take into account the life of a woman, the health of a woman and whether rape or incest were factors in a pregnancy. And as the mother of a special needs daughter, I will also advocate for an exception from these hateful laws for disabled girls.

​

To the women of McLennan County, and the men who love them, I respectfully request that you vote for Erin Shank for Texas House of Representatives, HD 56. 

​

We can fix this. I’m willing to put in the work and take to the halls of the Texas House with my daughter at my side, to advocate for exceptions to draconian reproductive policies and to protect pregnant women and their families.