US vice president Mike Pence told tens of thousands of people gathered at the March for Life rally last weekend that “Life is winning in America, and today is a celebration of that progress”.
Mr Pence is the highest-ranking government official ever to address the rally in person – Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush had spoken to the crowd by phone. Previously he has joined the march as a participant and addressed it as a congressman.
“More than 240 years ago, our founders declared these truths to be self-evident – that we are, all of us, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he said.
“Forty-four years ago, our Supreme Court turned away from the first of these timeless ideals, but today, generations hence – because of all of you and the many thousands who stand with us in rallies across this country – life is winning again in America.”
Mr Pence said that President Donald Trump had asked him to address the rally. “He asked me to thank you for your support, for your stand for life and your compassion for the women and children of America,” he said.
“Our president is a man with broad shoulders, a big heart,” Mr Pence added, to loud cheers, before saying: “His vision, his energy, his optimism are boundless, and I know he will make America great again.”
Kellyanne Conway, special adviser to Mr Trump, told the crowd: “This is a new day, a new dawn for life.”
Among the other speakers was Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.
Trump reinstates ban on funding abortions abroad
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order reinstating the Mexico City policy, which bans all foreign NGOs receiving US funds from performing or promoting abortion as a method of family planning in other countries.
Pro-life leaders hailed the action, with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York calling it a “welcome step”.
In the same week the US Congress passed a bill making the Hyde Amendment permanent. The amendment, first passed in 1976, bans taxpayer funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest or where the mother’s life is in danger. Last year Hillary Clinton called for a repeal of the amendment.
Cardinal Dolan said: “This is a welcome step toward restoring and enforcing important federal policies that respect the most fundamental human right – the right to life – as well as the long-standing, bipartisan consensus against forcing Americans to participate in the violent act of abortion.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan Anthony List, said Mr Trump was “continuing Ronald Reagan’s legacy by taking immediate action on day one to stop the promotion of abortion through our tax dollars overseas”.
Cardinal: abortion is a threat to us all
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has said that if the sanctuary of the womb is violated, then other sanctuaries are at risk.
“Can any of us be safe, can any of us claim a sanctuary anywhere when the first and most significant sanctuary of them all, the mother’s womb protecting a tiny life, can be raided and ravaged?” he asked during the opening Mass for the National Prayer Vigil for Life at Washington DC’s Catholic basilica.
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