Great job by Virginia Del. Adele McClure – winner of the 12th annual Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award – speaking at EMILY’s List’s 2025 Gala the other night! See below for video and a transcript of her speech, which powerfully weaves together the personal (her own health scare as a teenager, giving birth – painfully – to her daughter “just days before the presidential election last year”) and the political (“And then another thought hit me, sharper than any contraction. What kind of world have I just brought her into?…So I made a decision, both as a legislator, and as a brand new mother. If I can endure that kinda pain to bring her into this world, I can endure any battle to make it better.”). Very powerful – check it out, below, and keep an eye on this “Rising Star,” Del. Adele McClure, as she fights to make the world better for her baby daughter – and for all of us!
“What a tremendous honor to just meet one of my heroes, the Honorable Gabrielle Giffords. (audience cheering) (audience applauding)
Words cannot begin to express the gratitude that I feel for her, for EMILY’s List, and for my fellow nominees. You are fearless architects of change, brilliant, bold, and ever-rising. I am deeply honored to share this moment with you.
And less than a year ago, I was preparing to give birth to my daughter. (audience cheering) (audience applauding) And I’m so fortunate to be here. When I think of Gabrielle Giffords, I think of strength, the kind of strength and courage it takes to rise after the unthinkable, to lead through pain and transform it into purpose, power, and action. And then I look around this room at all of you, my mother. (audience cheering) (audience applauding) Whose grit and grace shaped every fiber of who I am. I am deeply moved by the amount of powerhouse women looking back at me.
And when I was a young girl, I could have never imagined this. I grew up in deep poverty, fighting to survive. I witnessed my mom do backbreaking work, working multiple jobs to ensure that I had a fighting chance. My mom protected us with everything she had. That kind of strength didn’t just raise me, it saved me. It’s carved into my DNA. It’s what carried me through hardship and into the halls of the Virginia Capitol. (audience cheering) (audience applauding)
That journey wasn’t just mine. It was built on generations of resilience. I am the granddaughter of a sharecropper, descended and enslaved from people in Virginia, and now I serve in the Virginia House of Delegates, the oldest continuous legislative body in the Western Hemisphere. (audience cheering) (audience applauding) That’s not just progress, that’s a promise, that where you start should never define how far you can rise.
But that journey, it nearly ended before it began. I was 17 years old. I went in for what should have been a routine checkup, the kind of visit you would miss without healthcare. But thanks to Medicaid, I was there. That visit, it saved my life. (audience applauding) Doctors discovered cancerous cells, and because I had access to care, I received the lifesaving reproductive surgery I needed. Without that access, I wouldn’t have known. I wouldn’t have been treated, and I wouldn’t be standing before you today. And after that surgery, at the age of 17, I lived with the quiet fear that I may never be able to have children. So when my daughter came into this world, that moment wasn’t just miraculous, it was revolutionary. (audience applauding) A victory made possible by the policy, by access, and by the kind of care that every single person deserves. (audience applauding) (audience cheering)
Holding my daughter for the first time redefined my existence. (audience laughing) Nine pounds, one ounce. (audience cheering) leaving me forever unchanged. That kind of pain, that fractures time, breaks you open, body and soul, and the kind of pain that strips away everything that you thought you were, and forces you to meet the most powerful, fiercest version of yourself. And then, silence. An unparalleled sense of peace rushed over me when she was born. Time slowed. The chaos faded. And in my arms, I held my daughter, and nothing else existed, just her, my perfect girl. And in that moment, I knew that I would do anything to protect her.
And then another thought hit me, sharper than any contraction. What kind of world have I just brought her into? My daughter was born just days before the presidential election last year. Into a country where our rights are fragile, our futures are negotiable, our bodies are political battlefields. So I made a decision, both as a legislator, and as a brand new mother. If I can endure that kinda pain to bring her into this world, I can endure any battle to make it better. (audience applauding) (audience cheering)
And this year, that battle is in Virginia. (audience applauding) (audience cheering) Virginia isn’t just my home, it’s the frontline for all of us. It’s a bellwether, a proving ground. What happens across that river will shape the 2026 midterms, and the future of this country. (audience applauding) We are the last Southern state holding the line on reproductive freedom, and this year, Virginia will elect her first woman governor in history. (audience cheering) (audience applauding) So the stakes could not be higher. And the two choices could not be any more different. Because once again, we are staring down two radically different futures for our daughters. I can’t do this alone. Abigail Spanberger can’t do it alone. (audience cheering) (audience applauding) All 100 seats of the House of Delegates are up for election, and we need every single voice, every hand, every person in this room.
So I’ll be reaching out to many of you in the days ahead. (audience laughing) So when I call, please pick up. And if I don’t have your number, please make sure I get it before tonight ends. (audience laughing) (audience cheering) (audience applauding) Thank you. Because I’m not just calling you for help, I’m calling you into battle, into history, because movements aren’t built by moments. They’re built by people who rise when it matters most. The fight isn’t just political, it’s personal. It’s about legacy. It’s about the future we refuse to surrender. It’s about the world we demand for our daughters, our communities, and ourselves. It’s about the unstoppable force, when we become and rise as one. We are not just witnesses to this moment, we are the moment. We are the past, present, and future of this movement.
And we are not here to politely tap on glass ceilings. We are here to shatter them, gather the shards with our bare hands, and build something unbreakable for the next generation to stand on and rise higher than we ever could. (audience cheering) (audience applauding) We are women forged in fire, in grace, in pain and purpose. We’ve carried burdens most never see. We face trials that would break others, and we have done it with unflinching resolve. So let the world take note. We will not flinch. We will not break. We will not back down, not now, not ever, until every door is open, every voice is heard, every right is protected, because pain? Pain is just the prelude to our power. (audience cheering) (audience applauding) The future begins now. The fight begins now. Now therefore, let it be resolved. God help anyone who dare stand in our way. (audience cheering) (audience applauding)”
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