Vice President Mike Pence joined SBA List’s Life Wins 2020 Tour that kicked off on Wednesday in Seminole, Fla. at Starkey Road Baptist Church.
His appearance at the SBA List tour was the first stop in a swing through Florida, one of several swing states in the upcoming election. According to Real Clear Politics, former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in the polls by an average of 6.2 percent.
The Life Wins Tour is a multi-state tour with additional stops to be held to spotlight local pro-life allies and pregnancy center leaders. The event was held after a tour of A Woman’s Place Medical Clinic in Pinellas Park, Fla.
HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan spoke before Pence. “There has never been a more pro-life and pro-family administration,” he said.
He outlined how the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services initiated pro-life regulations during the Trump Administration, citing the Title X family planning services rule.
Former U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, vice president of governmental affairs at SBA List, introduced Pence. She recounted their time together, serving in Congress and attending a congressional bible study.
She called Pence the “most pro-life vice president ever.”
“It is great to be back in church and great to be among so many champions for life,” Pence said.
“To all the great friends who have come out today, who have labored in the cause of life all across the Sunshine State, I just, first and foremost, want to say thank you. Thank you for what you have done for life. Thank you for what you have done for the great movement of the sanctity of life in this country and the unborn. It is wonderful to be among friends,” he stated.
Pence addressed the status of the pro-life movement’s 2016 electoral gains.
“Because of the work that you have done, we now have a pro-life champion in the White House. We have pro-life leaders in statehouses across the country, a pro-life majority in the United States Senate, and we have principled jurists in record numbers in our courts across the land. Because of what you’ve done, life is winning in America,” he said.
Pence pointed to America’s founding citing the Declaration of Independence that reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
“Those words changed history, and they also put life at the center of the American experiment. And under this President, I promise you, we’re going to continue to work every day to put the right to life back at the center of American law,” he remarked.
“Forty-seven years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States turned its back on that foundational right. And today, these basic truths are still under siege and still under threat. The progress that we have made is, in every sense — every sense at risk as we gather here today,” Pence added.
He emphasized that Biden, the Democratic Party, and the left would unwind any progress made by the Trump Administration.
Pence reminded those in attendance about Trump’s ban on taxpayer funding of abortion overseas through reinstating the Mexico City Policy, and it’s expansion. He pointed out Trump was the first president to speak at the March for Life on the National Mall. More importantly, Pence noted the 200 judges appointed by the Trump administration and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
“But I must tell you — I must tell you, one of the greatest privileges I’ve had as your Vice President was, in my role as President of the Senate, I was able to cast the tiebreaking vote on a bill that allowed states across the country to defund Planned Parenthood, and President Donald Trump signed it into law,” he stated.
In contrast, Pence noted that Biden would repeal the Hyde Amendment and push for the taxpayer funding of abortion and appoint activist judges who support abortion.
“Now more than ever, pro-life Americans need to let our voice be heard and stand for life. In cities and states and places of worship all across this country, you need to speak out. You need to become involved,” he said.
“But for any looking on, this is no time to be silent. And make no mistake about it, the radical left wants to silence pro-life on Americans,” Pence added.
He said the choice couldn’t be “more clear.”
“This President, this Vice President, and this administration will always stand up for the freedom of speech of every American, and we will always stand for life,” Pence said.
He noted that the pro-life movement has not just seen gains electorally, but in winning hearts and minds.
“From the White House to the courthouse to care centers, life is winning in America. But it’s winning in one other way that I think is worth remembering. I think life is winning hearts and minds in the rising generation. Young people today are rightly seen, by the tens of thousands on our National Mall, as a new pro-life generation, and so they are,” Pence explained.
“The rising generation is more pro-life than ever before. Young Americans are embracing the sanctity of life in record numbers — more and more every day,” he added.
