In a video address to the 42nd Annual National Right to Life Convention, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney committed to enacting pro-life policies if elected and told right-to-life activists, “I’ll never be…cavalier about life. I will be a pro-life president.”
“Right-to-lifers across the country must do everything they can to defeat Barack Obama and elect Mitt Romney,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “The Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare has made the choice in November crystal clear. We need a president and Congress dedicated to respecting life and repealing ObamaCare.”
The video address was shown in a general session and political rally featuring Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Rep. Trent Franks (R-Az.). The three-day convention, which brings together right-to-life activists from across the country and around the world, concludes tomorrow with a keynote address by Kansas Governor Sam Brownback.
The video address by Mitt Romney may be viewed here: https://nrlc.co/KR40gV
A full transcript of the Governor’s remarks appears below.
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Good Morning! I appreciate the invitation to speak with you today. I’m sorry I am not able to join you in person. I’d like to begin by thanking Carol Tobias and Darla St. Martin for their important work. Carol and Darla are two of a long line of leaders who have helped this organization grow from a small committee to a large community that has a welcome presence in all 50 states. I’m honored and grateful to have the endorsement of National Right to Life. If you ever question whether your advocacy changes hearts and minds, let me assure you that it does.
I’m just one of many Americans from every walk of life who found themselves asking an important question and after thoughtful deliberation and came to a heartfelt conclusion: Innocent life must be respected and protected from its beginning to its natural end. When I first ran for office, I said that I would retain the laws relating to abortion that were already in place despite my personal belief that abortion is wrong. But after being elected Governor of Massachusetts, I was confronted with legislation that called on me to expand the legal taking of unborn life, treating human embryos as mere research material to be experimented upon and then destroyed. I could not support that. Government sanction of abortion devalues human life.
As a governor then, whenever the question of life came before me, I answered that we must protect it. I fought to ban human cloning. I fought to ban embryo farming. I fought to define life as beginning at conception. I fought for abstinence education in our schools. And I vetoed a bill that would have given young girls abortion-inducing pills without prescription or parental consent. I fought those fights because in the quiet of conscience I knew it was the right thing to do. And I will always be grateful for advocates like you who stand to protect human life.
Today I’m running for a different and higher office. It comes with an even greater set of responsibilities and even tougher challenges than I faced as governor. More than 23 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have left the workforce altogether. New business startups are at a thirty year low. Our nation is running trillion dollar deficits every year. Food and energy costs have soared while home values and incomes have plummeted. President Obama’s economic policies have failed. He’s had his chance. Now it’s time for a change in leadership.
If I’m fortunate enough to be elected this November, putting America back on the right track and getting Americans back to work will be my priority from day one. But I will not forget that a strong country needs more than a strong economy. It needs strong families and strong values as well. President Obama once said that decisions about abortion are “above his pay grade.” I’ll never be so cavalier about life. I will be a pro-life president.
I’ll reinstate the Mexico City Policy. I’ll cut off funding for the United Nations Population Fund, which supports China’s abhorrent One Child Policy. I’ll ensure that abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood get no taxpayer dollars. And I’ll reverse Obama regulations that attack our religious freedom and threaten innocent life. I’ll nominate judges who respect the Constitution, are proponents of judicial restraint and know the difference between personal opinion and the law.
If elected President I will work with you to foster respect for innocent human life with an understanding that a culture that fails to do so ultimately becomes a culture in which respect for all fellow human beings is diminished. I’m heartened by the advances made by the pro-life movement over the last several years. The ranks of our pro-life partners are growing every day. That progress would not be possible without your passion and your dedication. God bless you for it and God bless the United States of America. Thank you so much.
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The National Right to Life Victory Fund is an independent expenditure political action committee dedicated to electing pro-life leaders to the White House and Congress. The NRL Victory Fund is an outreach of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC). Founded in 1968, National Right to Life is the nation’s oldest and largest pro-life organization.
Paid for by National Right to Life Political Action Committee. www.nrlpac.org.
Authorized by Romney for President.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
