Cecile Richards

Anne Nicole Gaylor wrote a book entitled Abortion is a Blessing, which is particularly striking when we are supposed to treat abortion at best a necessary evil. "No one supports abortion" or so such. The horror!

Anne Nicole Gaylor and her daughter (pictured with Cecile Richards) Annie Laurie Gaylor started the Freedom From Religion Foundation largely as an abortion rights organization. They knew religion played an important role in opposition to abortion. 

Annie Gaylor has spoken about how religion has promoted anti-feminist values. She is the co-president along with her husband (Dan Barker, a former preacher) of the organization today. They have one child. Annie is a fraternal twin. I can imagine the force of nature she must have been when they met in the 1980s. Barker has children with his first wife too.

FFRR is in place to "promote the constitutional principle of separation of state and church and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism." It promotes freethought. They give various awards to people, including Cecile Richards (RIP). Watching the video, Cecile Richards looks rather tall.  

Cecile Richards had a good energy for these times. I found a Vogue article that has some good stuff in it. For instance, there is a reference to an unofficial button that Richards really liked: “Don’t fuck with us, don’t fuck without us." Yes, that works fine.

Cecile Richards is the daughter of the great Ann Richards, who was the last Democratic governor of Texas. I recall the days of Molly Ivins, who was a friend of the Richards family. Cecile Richards became the president of Planned Parenthood. She was also the deputy chief of staff to Nancy Pelosi.

What is the work of Planned Parenthood?

“The average woman in America spends five years having children and an average of 30 years trying not to get pregnant,” says Richards, photographed by Leibovitz for Vogue in 2006. “That’s the work that we’re about.” 

And, it isn't easy. From the article:

Richards, who is the daughter of the late, legendary governor of Texas Ann Richards, says, “I know it’s frustrating. My mom used to say, paraphrasing Edna St. Vincent Millay, ‘Life isn’t one thing after the other; it’s the same damn thing over and over again.’ I think . . . you have to realize: Just when you get sick of saying something is just when other folks are beginning to hear it.”

We are beginning a hard time. Just the beginning is appalling. But, we have to keep fighting. We can just doom and that is focusing on badmouthing Democrats. We have to retain our values and keep speaking them.

The Vogue article ends with a 50-ish woman cautiously approaching Cecile Richards.

“Are you Cecile Richards?”

“Yes!”

“Sorry to interrupt,” she says.

“That’s OK!” says Richards.

The woman stares at her for a second and puts her hand to her heart. “Thank you.”

“Oh, listen,” says Richards. “Thank you.”

“You bring tears to my eyes.”

“It’s going to be OK,” says Richards.

“Promise?” says the woman, smiling.

“We’re working on it!”

Richards spoke at FFRF during the first Trump Administration. She died as we were about to start the second Trump Administration. It appalls me that we are still fighting these battles. But, we are.

We must keep on working on it.