On Friday, thousands of Americans will travel to Washington, D.C. and state capitals across the country for the annual March for Life. You, the marchers, will be diminished, ignored, or vilified by the political left, the legacy media, and even some in our own party. Nevertheless, you stand firm in your demonstration of solidarity with women and the unborn.
In doing so, you carry on a tradition that has been unbroken for almost half a century. But you will also be founding a new tradition. This year’s march—unlike marches of the past—will not be directed at overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court has repealed one of the worst legal decisions in the history of the 20th century. The abortion regime our country suffered under for so long is gone. And the great legal goal of the pro-life movement is accomplished. Your prayers and witness were instrumental to this outcome. This January, you have legitimate cause for celebration.
And yet, the fact that you’re still here shows that you think our work isn’t done. And you’re right—you didn’t march for 48 years just so the state of California or the Department of Veterans Affairs could become America’s abortion factory, or so that the United States Postal Service could become a mail-order Planned Parenthood. You marched to save lives, and tragically millions of American babies are still in mortal danger. Your work—and mine—won’t be done until this country is truly safe for women and the unborn.
That sentence horrifies elite political consultants. They want Republican politicians to run the other way on abortion, to leave everything to the states, to stop talking about the value of human life, etc. Unfortunately, many listened to them. And now they’ve bought into the media narrative that it was support for the unborn that cost Republicans in the midterm elections. They forget that the media are biased against conservatives and actively discourage us from standing up to the abortion industry. They also forget that running the other way is not an option if you believe an unborn child is actually a living human being.
Unborn babies cannot run away from the abortionist. They cannot protest the violation of their most basic inalienable right—their right to life—because they have no voice of their own. We must be their voice.
That is why I did not run from my pro-life views even though I faced with what many thought would be a difficult reelection campaign last year. I said in August what I’ve said for years: that “abortion is the killing of an unborn human being,” and that “the dignity and the worth of a human life” are not tied to the circumstances of its conception.
When my opponent attacked me, I doubled down by supporting Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) bill—a 15-week ban that would finally place a federal limit on abortion. When liberal reporters opened fire, I turned the tables on them and demanded that they ask Democrat candidates what restrictions on abortion they are for. Not one of 55 journalists responded in good faith, because they know that the default Democrat position is the truly extreme one: support for taxpayer-funded abortion up to the moment of birth, without any common-sense restrictions.
The consultants cringed when I stood my ground, and the progressives patted themselves on the back. The third most-aired ad of the entire mid-term election cycle was an attack on my pro-life views. But on November 8, the people of Florida showed that they know what real extremism is—and that they still believe in an inalienable right to life. I won the state by 17 percentage points and flipped historically blue Miami-Dade County to the red column.
Support for life cannot end after an election, though. In fact, the dismantling of America’s pro-abortion legal regime requires we do even more to support pregnant and new moms, as well as their young children. Rhetoric isn’t enough, which is why Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and I introduced the Providing for Life Act. This comprehensive package will provide real assistance for American parents and children in need.
We are in a new era, fresh off victory in Dobbs and energized for what comes next. Doing what is right isn’t always easy, but it is never in vain. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “the arc of history bends toward justice,” even if it is an arc that requires patience and faith to be seen. There are many more marches to come, but we’re on a good track at long last.
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