Emails from University of Texas students who signed “post-birth abortion” petition, Dec. 8-9, 2014

6:38 p.m.

Dec. 8, 2014

I was given different information about the petition’s platform at the time by a guy on the sidewalk. It wasn't the same info you're giving me.

(Joseph Ellerd)

> On Dec 9, 2014, at 3:11 PM, Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin) <wgselby@statesman.com> wrote:

>

>

> Are you saying you might be in favor of this proposal or you might be against it or what?

>

3:30 p.m.

Dec. 9, 2014

...my belief is that If the child's already born then aborting the child is kind of wrong. So I'm not in favor of the petition if it means a mother can abort a child anytime before the age of five.

10:54 a.m.

Dec. 9, 2014

I remember signing this petition because the man petitioning led me to believe it was about keeping a women's health clinic open. After reading what was printed on the petition I realized this was not the case but I felt obligated to sign because I had already been handed the petition by this man.

Best,

Milla Lubis

On Tuesday, December 9, 2014, Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin) <wgselby@statesman.com> wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I take it you do not support the proposal.

11:03 a.m.

Definitely not. I think it's misleading to have someone stand in the middle of campus asking women if they believe in women's rights. Obviously as a woman I would say yes but that doesn't mean I support aborting children when they are self aware.

12:49 p.m.

To be clear, and to reiterate, I only signed the petition because, in my rush across campus to class, I was misled by the organizer in doing so—because he misrepresented to me its purpose and his position. Had I fully understood the actual position the organizer was advancing, there is absolutely no way that I ever would have signed his petition. To be clear, I unequivocally do not support the “Post-Birth Abortion Act of 2014.” To me, the stated purpose is so horrifying and revolting that I find it difficult to imagine that such a petition or related Act could be advanced for anything more than a political stunt.

While I am not altogether certain that the full (or even partial) text of the purported Act was included on the petition I signed, regardless of the organizer’s misleading tactics, as an educated woman, I do take responsibility for the mistake I made in not fully understanding the petition before I signed my name. I greatly appreciate you bringing this to my attention, and because of your communication, I am presently attempting to contact the organizer to ask that my name be permanently removed from the petition. While I understand your position about anonymity, I likewise note that given this email, and follow-up with the organizers, any suggestion that I support this Act would be factually inaccurate.

I greatly appreciate your understanding—and your part, whether intentional or otherwise—in teaching me to use more scrutiny in similar future situations. I assure you I will not make this mistake again.

Danielle Bainter