Texas Values Marched in D.C. & Texas Last Week to Protect Life

Last week, Texas Values team members joined hundreds of thousands of Americans at the annual 2022 March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Friday, January 21st, and joined thousands of Texans on Saturday, January 22 at the 2022 Texas Rally for Life in memory of the millions of aborted children and to call for an end to this unjust practice.  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Bishop Joe Vasquez were the keynote speakers for the Texas event and Father Mike Schmidt, actor Kirk Cameron and music artist Matthew West all headlined the D.C. event. Pro-life supporters on social media used #WhyWeMarch.

Jonathan Saenz, President and Attorney for Texas Values, released this statement:

“In the Lonestar State one thing is clear, you don’t mess with Texas babies. We want to save lives, that’s why we march in D.C. and in Texas in honor of the 63 million babies who have been killed by abortion since 1973.  In Texas, over 20,000 babies have been saved from abortion since the passage of the Texas Heartbeat Law, the nation’s strongest pro-life legislation.  We will continue to fight for the protection of vulnerable babies in the womb and work to end Roe v. Wade and abortion in Texas and nationwide.”
Texas Values Senior Policy Advisor was live from the Texas Rally.  See the video here.

This week, Texas Values published updated information on federal and state mandates. 

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to block Biden’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers means that companies cannot force their employees to choose between taking the jab and losing their jobs. In addition, Texas Governor Abbott recently issued an executive order prohibiting any company or organization from imposing a vaccine requirement on their employees in the state. Texas Values has always opposed vaccine mandates and supported an individual’s right to make their own medical decisions, even filing our own legal amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in NFIB v. DOL, the case which blocked the federal government mandate.

Texas State Board of Education Meets to Discuss Social Studies Textbook Content

This week the Texas State Board of Education met in Austin, Texas to discuss Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Among the topics discussed was the revision of the Social Studies TEKS for K-12 students that will happen this year and be completed in November 2022. No action was taken, but the board members reviewed a list of 9 recommendations made by the content advisors who are reviewing the current social studies standards in order to improve them. The most contentious topic for debate was the recommendation that Texas History not be taught as a standalone course in 7th grade. Many board members believe that studying Texas History is very important for students and deserves to have a standalone course. The board members should expect to see recommendations and drafts for the social studies TEKS sometime in the spring and summer of this year. In the meantime, people can sign up to be on a workgroup to help draft the TEKS. You can also read the content advisors' recommendations and bios on the TEA website.

If you would like to apply to be on a workgroup for Social Studies please email [email protected]

Texas Values Publishes Article on Texas Heartbeat Law at Daily Signal

Texas Values Policy and Communications Advisor Arina Grossu wrote an article about the Texas Heartbeat Law and how it is strongly inspiring other states to follow in its path. The Texas Heartbeat Law has saved over 22,000 preborn babies’ lives since going into effect on Sept. 1, 2021. The success of the law has inspired other states to follow suit: Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and South Dakota are all currently considering similar legislation. Arina Grossu explained that the state of Texas has earmarked $100 million in grants through its Alternatives to Abortion program. This program, which began in 2006, works with contracted service providers, including pregnancy centers, social service providers, adoption agencies, and maternity homes for pregnant women to support services for pregnant women, their families, and adoptive parents