This weekend’s National Right to Life convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, proved that the pro-life movement is going to be a force in next year’s presidential election. Several Republican candidates attended and spoke at the largest pro-life gathering of the year to speak about our most fundamental right. Among them was Florida Senator Marco Rubio:
“It is a definitional issue about the kind of country we want to be. In a world where life is increasingly not valued, where people are summarily discarded, America must stand for the belief that all life is worthy of protection, because all life comes from God.”
America’s failure to protect life, he said, can be traced to a courtroom in 1973.
“Our nation has strayed from this purpose. Our government – ever since a historically, egregiously flawed Supreme Court decision – has condoned the taking of innocent life on a massive scale. And particularly under our current president, America has declined to stand on the side of life around the world.”
His solution? Vote.
“The White House needs an occupant who values and prioritizes life. And so my pledge to you is this: if you send me to that place, I will not forget this place. I will bring our advocacy to the White House, and we’ll get things done. We will advance the cause of life at home and around the world.”
Rubio’s comments landed him on Right Wing Watch, whose headline suggested he was (surprise) waging a war on women.
Other conservative candidates to address the National Right to Life attendees were Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) and Dr. Ben Carson. It’s not surprising that about one third of the pronounced Republican presidential candidates attended the Right to Life event, for polls continue to show that voters, at the very least, want stricter abortion laws.
Candidates who didn’t show up to New Orleans this weekend would be remiss to completely omit the topic of abortion from their own campaigns. Looking at you, Gov. George Pataki.
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