As most Texans try to protect their families during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's become increasingly clear that the state's Republican leaders are putting politics ahead of public health. Consider, for example, state Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, comparing a Dallas salon owner who kept her shop open in defiance of public health orders to Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi. Really.…… Read More

Friends,

At the Texas Freedom Network, we are committed to putting the public interest at the center of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted to update you on the precautions TFN is taking to keep our staff, young leaders, volunteers and supporters safe. To that end, we are implementing the following measures:

We are asking all our employees to work remotely from now until March 29. We are also suspending our Texas Rising field program and all public meetings and gatherings through that time period out of concern for our organizers, volunteers, supporters and our communities. We are committed to keeping part-time field staff on our payroll as we determine contingency plans to ensure that the important work of TFN continues, including moving forward with our voter registration efforts in different ways. In the next week, we will announce a major new advocacy program to promote key policy changes (both emergency and long-term) that this health crisis has made clear are long overdue in our state — from earned paid sick time to online voter registration and more.

We encourage local communities to follow guidance as provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov. Our… Read More

Cecile Richards wanted to see for herself how much the religious right was expanding its influence in the halls of Texas government. So in January 1995, Cecile attended her first State Board of Education meeting, watching how religious-righters on the board were hijacking textbook adoptions to promote their political agenda. "It's worse than I imagined," she scribbled on a note to a friend at the meeting. One month later, on Feb. 17, 1995, Cecile founded the Texas Freedom Network as a counter to the radical right in this state. As we celebrate the organization's anniversary 25 years later, TFN is still that counter to far-right extremism -- but it's become so much more. Check out our press release today. Read More

While Texans were celebrating a new year, state Attorney General Ken Paxton decided to ring in 2020 with an ugly dose of anti-abortion politics. On Jan. 2 he quietly released a formal opinion suggesting that state law bars public employees from having donations to Planned Parenthood deducted from their paychecks. Check out our press release:…… Read More

  Progressive faith leaders are speaking out in support of women's access to all reproductive health care services, including abortion care. Today Just Texas, a project of the Texas Freedom Network, released an open letter signed by more than 170 clergy and faith leaders from across the state who oppose efforts to pass abortion bans in Texas towns. Read the press release here. Read More