Texas GOP Defeats Resolution to Honor Late Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards

Texas Republicans blocked an attempt from Democrats on Thursday to honor late former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, who passed away in January at the age of 67 after battling brain cancer, the Texas Tribune reported. 

Democrat state Rep. Donna Howard proposed a resolution to honor Richards, and it was reportedly tucked in a slate of other memorials, including for U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2024, and Corey Comperatore, a Pennsylvania father who was shot and killed during the assassination attempt of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July of 2024. 

“House ‘Leadership’ is attempting to tie the honoring of Jill Glover and Corey Comperatore into a universal resolution which would also honor Cecile Richards, a former president of Planned Parenthood,” Republican state Rep. Andy Hopper posted on X before the resolution was struck down. 

“Her legacy is the murder of millions of babies,” he added. “This is outrageous, and you should call the speaker’s office, as well as the office of Jared Patterson NOW to let them hear your voice.”

“WE WON!” Republican state Rep. Nate Schatzline posted to X after the vote. “The Resolution honoring Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards has been BLOCKED! Texas will never honor those who mass murder our unborn children! We will speak for the 63.6 million babies that have been murdered by the Abortion Industrial Complex! Texas is a PRO-LIFE STATE!”

According to the Tribune, debate over the resolution began early Thursday morning and Republicans ended up having the resolutions “pulled from consideration for the day, effectively torpedoing the entire slate of memorials.” Conservative lawmakers were outraged at the prospect of honoring Richards, while others questioned Texas Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows for allowing the resolution to come forward.

“Do you, as speaker, believe it’s appropriate that on Easter weekend we’re honoring Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood?” asked Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican from Midlothian.

Rep. Wes Virdell (R-Brady) joined in, asking the Speaker, “Is it standard procedure to honor people who have killed millions of unborn babies?”

Democrat Rep. Ramon Romero Jr. countered that “the tradition of this house is that we honor those persons, whether we agree with that person’s life or not.” 

“We all deserve the opportunity to come before this chamber to recognize, celebrate our constituents and know that we and they will be met with the utmost respect. That is what I expected when I filed HR 236,” Howard said. “The Richards family was denied that opportunity.”

Richards, daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards (D), revealed in January of 2024 she was living with brain cancer, but vowed to continue her fight for abortion while battling her illness. She had been diagnosed in mid-2023 with an incurable and aggressive ailment called glioblastoma.

Richards oversaw nearly four million abortions while leading Planned Parenthood for 12 years, between 2006 and 2018, according to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

During that time, she massively grew the organization, with the base of donors and volunteers increasing from three million to 11 million, according to the Texas Tribune. She also raised more money than at any other point in Planned Parenthood’s history and supercharged the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which is the organization’s political advocacy arm.

Richards was at the helm of the organization when Planned Parenthood was accused of illegally harvesting and selling body parts from aborted babies, although the organization denies the allegations. She stepped down in 2018 but continued to work as an abortion activist.

A few months before her death, outgoing President Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a private ceremony.

The Medal of Freedom is given at the discretion of the president to a civilian who has made an “especially meritorious contribution” to the United States.

Richards urged women to “be bold” in speaking about their abortions — during a speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago in 2024, she said women are “unstoppable” when they are able to have their unborn babies aborted.

“One day, our children and grandchildren may ask us, ‘When it was all on the line, what did you do?’ And the only acceptable answer is, everything we could,” Richards said.

According to the Tribune, “it remains unclear when the memorial calendar will return — and whether Richards’ name will be on it.”

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.