by Carmen and Breanna
Rick Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, has stated that he will not seek re-election after this term. He will cease to be Governor in 18 months. Perry’s spent a lot of time talking – and often his words crossed from an individual opinion to dangerous anti-woman and anti-feminist rhetoric. Here’s 10 Perry quotes that exemplify why feminists won’t miss his sound bites.
10. “Roe v. Wade is nothing but a shameful footnote in our nation’s history books.” (Quoted by Reuters in 2011)
9. “The Court decided in 1963 that the people of Connecticut were unconstitutionally outlawing the sale of contraceptives, because – it imagined – in the “penumbras” of the Constitution there is a right to privacy that prohibits that policy… What total and complete nonsense.” (via Fed Up! by Rick Perry.)
8. “People have relayed to me that never in the history of Texas have they seen that type of a mob rule come in and discombobulate a legislative session and Texas want to protect life and that’s the bottom line here.” (Referring to the recent filibuster against SB5 on Fox News. A majority of Texans do not want the legislature to be debating abortion law at this time.)
7. “I don’t even know what that means, but it certainly has nothing to do with the Constitution or the law.” (in Fed Up!, as commentary on the SCOTUS ruling that a Texas sodomy ban was unconstitutional and his predicted future acceptance of gay marriage in America. Perry also once called the ban “appropriate.”)
6.”Young Hispanics in Texas can aspire to be the next Rolando Pablos, the chairman of the Texas racing commission; maybe the next Roberto de Hoyos, who heads our economic development shop; and one of my favorites, the head of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Jose Cuervas [sic]. Is that awesome? That is the right job for that man.” (Speaking to the Latino convention in Texas, June 23, 2011)
5. “This important bill will ensure that every Texas woman seeking an abortion has all the facts about the life she is carrying, and understands the devastating impact of such a life-changing decision.” (Press Release from Perry’s office when he signed a mandatory sonogram-before-abortion bill that was vehemently challenged by the center for reproductive rights. Opponents of the legislation called it “one of the most dangerous anti-choice state trends in 2011.”)
4. “Our federal tax dollars can now be used to fund abortion all over the world. With the stroke of a pen, abortion essentially became U.S. foreign export.” (Said at a speech in Los Angeles. This is factually inaccurate; the Hyde Amendment prevents federal money from being spent on abortion.)
3. “She was the daughter of a single woman, she was a teenage mother herself. She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas senate… It is just unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example.” (Speaking at the National Right to Life Convention about Senator Wendy Davis.)
2. “To be clear, my goal, and the goal of many of those joining me here today, is to make abortion, at any stage, a thing of the past.” (Said at a press conference organized by Texas Right to Life.)
1. “I’m just going to tell you from my own personal life – abstinence works.” (Defending Texas’ failed abstinence-only sex education programs in 2011. Texas has the third highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation and the highest repeat teen pregnancy rate in the nation, despite Perry’s own life experiences.)