A state lawmaker in Nevada received threats after giving an emotional testimony about an abortion she had as a teenager, according to sources familiar with the matter. She made the comments during a sex education bill hearing on Monday.
Nevada state Assemblywoman Lucy Flores (D-Las Vegas) canceled a TV appearance Wednesday because of the threatening messages she had received after her April 1 appearance, Las Vegas NBC affiliate KSNV producer Dana Gentry told The Huffington Post on Thursday.
Reno Gazette Journal reporter Ray Hagar told HuffPost that he confirmed with the assemblywoman's staff that Flores had received threats related to her abortion testimony.
Neither Hagar nor Gentry knew the nature of the threats or from whom they had come.
While Flores did not return a request for comment from HuffPost, she took to her Facebook page on Thursday to say that she canceled her TV appearance "in an abundance of caution." She went on to say that the past couple days had "been very trying."
In the Facebook message, Flores said she was "eternally grateful" for the support she had received this week and vowed not to be intimidated by her opponents.
"I remain dedicated to my beliefs and convictions, and no matter what comes my way, I will not be silenced -- on ANY topic," the politician wrote.
During a hearing on a state sex education bill on Monday, Flores told the story of how she had an abortion as a 16-year-old, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. Flores said that each of her six sisters became a teenage mother, and that she "didn't want to be like that."
"I don't regret it," Flores said about her abortion, according to the report. "I don't regret it because I am here [at the Legislature] making a difference...for young ladies and letting them know their options."
In a press statement Thursday, Flores explained why she had made personal comments during the legislative hearing.
"I shared that story because I felt it was relevant to the importance of sex education in Nevada schools, and my belief that our children need to be armed with good information in order to make good choices," she said.
Flores' remarks provoked the wrath of some conservative media outlets, as well as an outpouring of support on Twitter through the hashtag #FierceFlores.
Flores is a supporter of the sex education bill, AB 230, which was introduced to the legislature in early March. It seeks to provide medically accurate information on contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and other sexual health issues.
Nevada has the fourth highest rate of teen pregnancy in the nation among women aged 15-19, according to a Guttmacher Institute study from 2008, the most recent year for which data is available.
