Last week, the internet was ablaze with news President Donald Trump had launched a cruise missile attack on Syria in response to President Bashar al-Assad's suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held Syrian town.
What you might not know, however, was that in the same week, Trump also signed legislation that now allows states to deny federal family planning money to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providing services.
On Friday, Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake – who voted in favour of Trump's legislation restricting women's health care – held a town hall meeting about Planned Parenthood in his district of Mesa to discuss plans going forward.
During the meeting, 16-year-old activist Deja Foxx stood up to ask Flake what right he believed he had to make decisions regarding her, and thousands of women's, sexual health and Title X – the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services.
Addressing the Senator, the Tucson-born teenager said:
'I just want to state some facts. So, I'm a young woman and you're a middle-aged man. I'm a person of colour and you're white. I come from a background of poverty, and I didn't always have parents to guide me through life. You come from privilege.'
'So I'm wondering, as a Planned Parenthood patient, and someone who relies on Title X, who you are clearly not, why is it your right to take away my right to choose Planned Parenthood and to choose no-co-pay birth control, to access that? If you can explain that to me, I would appreciate it.'
Unsurprisingly, Foxx's speech was received with a standing ovation and applause from her fellow town hall attendees.
The teenager – whose Twitter bio reads 'feminine sexuality and intelligence are not inversely related' – has been active on social media ever since her speech went viral on Twitter, and is now encouraging everyone to 'speak truth to power and privilege'.
We couldn't have put it better ourselves.
Watch the entirety of Foxx's speech, here:
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
