And the Ladies Choice Award for Photo of the Year Goes to….

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Which is good — we can keep the blog post snappy! Some of the pictures below sparked a movement, others served as an act of defiance, and at least one of the photos below serves as a reminder about how far we’ve come. Check out the nominees for the top 5 photos of the year….

NOMINEE: Wendy Davis at the Texas Capitol

Senator Wendy Davis held her ground in an 11-hour marathon filibuster, speaking out against a dangerous bill, while thousands of Texans packed the capitol in solidarity.

When it came time to vote, the crowd in Austin cheered, shouted, and used their voices to block a vote while Senator Wendy Davis raised her hand in the air signifying the “no” vote. Throughout the fight in Texas, this image became a symbol of what happened that night, and the opposition to this extreme bill.

NOMINEE: 6,000 Texans rally

Rick Perry may have called a second special session to pass the extreme and dangerous bill that threatened to virtually end access to safe and legal abortion in the state of Texas, but it didn’t discourage women’s health advocates. They were just gearing up for a fight — which became more than clear when 6,000 people showed up to a rally in Austin, TX, to oppose this bill.

NOMINEE: North Carolina Mad (Wo)Men

When North Carolina lawmakers pushed a bill that would allow your boss to decide if employees can access affordable birth control, it felt like we went to sleep and woke up in the 1950s. Realize that if they were going to be treated that way they might as well dress the part — women showed up to the state capitol to protest the bill in retro attire, proclaiming, “We like watching Mad Men but we don’t want to live in it!”

NOMINEE: Wendy Davis at the Texas Capitol

What does motorcycle safety have to do with women’s health? That’s the question women in North Carolina asked only a few months later, when they found themselves once again fighting another anti-women’s health bill. This time though, legislators went to new lengths, attaching restrictions on a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions to a Motorcycle Safety bill. 

WINNER: $0 Receipt

Is there anything better than checking out at the pharmacy and receiving birth control without busting out your wallet? A lot of women have been asking themselves this very same question now that birth control is covered as a preventive benefit, available with no additional copay thanks to Obamacare.

The photos from Texas and North Carolina encapsulate critical moments for women’s health this year, but there is nothing better than the numerous receipts we keep seeing from individuals. Here’s to hoping we see a lot more of these photos in the New Year!

Tags: North Carolina, Wendy Davis, Texas, Obamacare, Motorcycle Abortion Bill, birth control