Austin, TX – July 11, 2024: Major news media, including the New York Times, have reported that on Monday when Hurricane Beryl approached the city of Houston, the head of the satanic abortion statue on the University of Houston went missing. Earlier this year, the University of Houston decided to mount the statue called “Witness” that was created by artist Shahzia Sikander in a response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Now, the media and officials at the University of Houston are claiming that “vandals” beheaded the 18– foot statue surrounded by security guardrails and a small pool of water in front of the statue. The University is launching a criminal investigation to discover how the head was removed. In discussing the possibility of vandals, the media implicates pro-life groups like Texas Values and Texas Right to Life for being vocal in our opposition to the statue and rallying support from the Houston community to have the statue removed. The articles and university pay little attention to Hurricane Beryl, an act of God, as being a possibility for the missing head of the statue displaying satanic imagery.
Jonathan Saenz, President and Attorney for Texas Values released the following statement:
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of any possible senseless attack. We would never condone such violence and destruction of property, but since it has been defaced, it’s probably best for the university to remove it. It appears that the statue is bringing nothing but negative attention on the university and becoming a distraction from the university’s expected focus on education.”
Texas Values, along with other pro-life groups and students at the university, participated in a student-led march and rally in February to protest against the University of Houston using taxpayer dollars to fund the transportation of the statue from New York City. One student leader claimed that the University of Houston did not ask or consult with the students before bringing the statue to campus.
The University of Houston has a tainted history of silencing the speech of pro-life students. When Texas Values President and Attorney Jonathan Saenz was a law student at the University of Houston, a federal court judge ruled that the university violated Jonathan’s and his fellow classmate’s constitutional free speech rights by not allowing an on-campus pro-life group to have the same type of rights and events on campus as pro-abortion groups.
Texas Values was the leading organization in helping pass the Texas Heartbeat Law and other major pro-life laws to protect babies and women in the state of Texas. To learn more, please visit LoveThemBothTexas.com.
Members of the Texas Values policy team are available for comment. Email Ashley to schedule an interview media@txvalues.org or call/text 737-314-2450.
###
About Texas Values
Texas Values is the largest statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org.