When Paxton Smith tore up her prepared valedictorian speech and instead urgently spoke out against Texas’ proposed “Heartbeat Bill”, she described how “dehumanizing” it was “to have the autonomy over your own body taken away”. “I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter”, she shared. “I hope you can feel how gut-wrenching that is”.