By the time Sarah Slamen finally got to testify against a restrictive anti-abortion bill in front of a Texas state Senate committee this week, her plans had changed, she told Daily Kos in a recent interview.
After a long drive to Austin from Central Texas and an hours-long wait in the state capitol, it was 11 p.m. on Monday, and the 28-year-old no longer wanted to talk about the ways Gov. Rick Perry's (R) sister could stand to benefit financially from the legislation. Instead, Slamen took the opportunity to voice her frustration over a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and shutter almost all of the state's abortion clinics. Before she could finish, however, she was surrounded by state troopers and forcibly removed from the chamber.
(Watch video of her testimony above.)
Here's the bit of Slamen's testimony that apparently upset state Sen. Jane Nelson (R), who was overseeing the proceedings:
"Thank you for being you, Texas legislature. You have radicalized hundreds of thousands of us, and no matter what you do for the next 22 days, women and their allies are coming for you," Slamen said. "Let’s start down the line. Senator Campbell, you’re an ophthalmologist. So I won’t be making you the expert on reproductive health. We can give you all the children with chlamydia and herpes in their eyes, since we don’t have Sex Ed in this state."
Nelson slammed her gavel and accused Slamen of being disrespectful. Slamen shot back, "Excuse me, this is my government, ma'am. I will judge you."
As the state troopers began to drag her out of the room, Slamen left with some parting words.
"This is a farce. The Texas legislature is a bunch of liars who hate women," she said.
Lawmakers in the Texas House are expected to pass the controversial abortion restrictions in a final vote on Wednesday. It will then go to the state Senate for final passage. State Sen. Wendy Davis (D), who successfully blocked an earlier version of the bill two weeks ago, has said it will likely be approved this time around.