| 1 | 1 | | 89R13883 KRT-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Howard H.R. No. 236 |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, The family and friends of Cecile Richards, who |
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| 9 | 9 | | passed away on January 20, 2025, at the age of 67, may find comfort |
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| 10 | 10 | | in reflecting on her remarkable life's journey; and |
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| 11 | 11 | | WHEREAS, Born in Waco on July 15, 1957, Cecile Richards was |
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| 12 | 12 | | the daughter of Ann Richards, who later served as the governor of |
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| 13 | 13 | | Texas, and David Richards, a civil rights attorney; following in |
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| 14 | 14 | | her parents' footsteps, she took up political activism while still |
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| 15 | 15 | | a teenager and was disciplined by her high school for protesting the |
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| 16 | 16 | | Vietnam War; after earning her degree from Brown University in |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1980, she became a labor organizer; she later founded the Texas |
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| 18 | 18 | | Freedom Network, a progressive grassroots organization, and served |
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| 19 | 19 | | as deputy chief of staff to U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, In 2006, Ms. Richards was appointed president of the |
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| 21 | 21 | | Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and she also served as |
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| 22 | 22 | | president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund; in those roles, |
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| 23 | 23 | | she became one of the leading voices in the debate over reproductive |
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| 24 | 24 | | health, and throughout her 12-year tenure, she valiantly upheld the |
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| 25 | 25 | | importance of the organization's services and defended the rights |
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| 26 | 26 | | of the women and families that it served; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, After concluding her service with Planned |
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| 28 | 28 | | Parenthood in 2018, Ms. Richards founded Supermajority, an |
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| 29 | 29 | | organization dedicated to encouraging more women to enter politics, |
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| 30 | 30 | | and published a memoir, Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, |
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| 31 | 31 | | and Finding the Courage to Lead; in 2024, she was presented with a |
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| 32 | 32 | | Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, |
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| 33 | 33 | | by President Joe Biden; she is survived by her husband, Kirk Adams, |
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| 34 | 34 | | her children, Lily, Hannah, and Daniel, a grandchild, and her |
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| 35 | 35 | | siblings, Ellen, Clark, and Dan Richards; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | WHEREAS, Though it is impossible to gauge the full effect of |
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| 37 | 37 | | one person's life, some individuals leave their unmistakable mark |
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| 38 | 38 | | on the world as they move through it, and the exceptional |
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| 39 | 39 | | contributions of Cecile Richards will continue to resonate for |
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| 40 | 40 | | years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 42 | 42 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Cecile Richards and |
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| 43 | 43 | | extend sincere condolences to all who mourn her passing; and, be it |
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| 44 | 44 | | further |
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| 45 | 45 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 46 | 46 | | prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 47 | 47 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Cecile |
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| 48 | 48 | | Richards. |
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