Pence Addresses March for Life

Indiana congressman Mike Pence of Indiana--who's deciding this week between running for president and governor--delivered a strong, succinct (372 words by my count) speech at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. today. Pence pushed back against the proposal--advanced by fellow Hoosier Gov. Mitch Daniels--that the issue of abortion should somehow be set aside while the economy is struggling. Said Pence: 

“These are trying times in the life of this nation.

 

“Our economy is struggling and our national government is awash in a sea of debt.

 

“Amidst these struggles, some would have us focus our energies on jobs and spending.

 

"We must not remain silent when great moral battles are being waged. Those who would have us ignore the battle being fought over life have forgotten the lessons of history. As in the days of a house divided, America's darkest moments have come when economic arguments trumped moral principles.

Pence definitely continues to have the presidency on his mind. There's the quote from Jefferson--"God who gave us life gave us liberty…and God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever"--and nods to Lincoln ("house divided") and Reagan ("ash heap of history"). Here are Pence's remarks in full: 

“We gather to mark the 38th anniversary of the worst Supreme Court decision since Dred Scott.  And we gather today in the shadow of a new pro-life majority on Capitol Hill.  And we will keep gathering until Roe v. Wade is sent to the ash heap of history where it belongs.

 

“These are trying times in the life of this nation.

 

“Our economy is struggling and our national government is awash in a sea of debt.

 

“Amidst these struggles, some would have us focus our energies on jobs and spending.

 

"We must not remain silent when great moral battles are being waged. Those who would have us ignore the battle being fought over life have forgotten the lessons of history. As in the days of a house divided, America's darkest moments have come when economic arguments trumped moral principles.

 

“A nation that will not stand for life will not stand for long.

 

“You know there can be no lasting prosperity without a moral foundation in law.

 

“And as to focusing on spending, I agree.

 

“Let’s start by denying all federal funding for abortion at home and abroad.

 

“The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X.

“The time has come to deny any and all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America.

 

“Thank you for braving the cold one more time and saying to the heart of our national government, ‘We will fight on for life. We will fight on for the unborn and the brokenhearted.’

 

“And we will fight on because we know, as Jefferson said, ‘God who gave us life gave us liberty…and God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever.’

 

“And we know this:  We will win this fight because the deepest desire of every mother and father is to protect their child, at any cost, even with the own lives and that truth cannot be erased.

“The American people will make this right.  We will restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law.  Because every American knows in their heart, this is the greatest nation on earth because we acknowledge the God-given right to liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the unalienable right to life.”