Defending life

OPINION:

Protecting the lives of the unborn is more than a political cause – it is the calling of our times. Defending life is defending the future of our nation, and our society will be judged by how we treat the most vulnerable, including mothers facing crisis pregnancies and unborn children. 

Though Roe v Wade has rightly been sent to the ash heap of history where it belongs, the battle to protect life forges on more intensely than ever. The Biden administration has declared war on the pro-life movement, working to circumvent pro-life state laws through executive overreach and legalizing dangerous abortion drugs. Pro-life activists face a two-tier system of justice under the Biden administration, and pregnancy centers have endured vandalism and violence with nary a peep from the Department of Justice. 

But in spite of the relentless attacks the pro-life movement has faced, some prominent Republicans have started to waver on the cause of life, even on the heels of our greatest victory. 

Some say the Supreme Court returned the abortion issue only to the states, and nothing can be done at the federal level. Others say state restrictions are too harsh and blame the pro-life movement for a poor performance at the ballot box in 2022.

But conservatives must never shrink from the great moral cause of our time. We did not arrive at this moment in the story of America by being timid. We got here through perseverance, passion, hard work and faith. Now, as we move forward, we must have the courage of our convictions. And we must remember that the battle for life is far from over – we have not reached the beginning of the end, but only the end of the beginning. 

In this rapidly changing post-Roe America, our job remains the same: to do all we can to end the culture of death, to restore a culture of life, and to return the sanctity of life to the center of American law. I believe that if we save the babies, we will save our country. 
The pro-life cause is, first and foremost, a moral cause, but it must also be a national cause. The Supreme Court has stated that lawmakers and not unelected judges must set abortion policy. That means our task is nothing less than to win the fight for life in Congress and in every statehouse in America until the scourge of abortion is eliminated from our society once and for all.

It may take another 50 years to accomplish this, but just as the pro-life movement worked for 50 years to overturn Roe v. Wade, we must continue to work to make abortion totally unthinkable. 

We can never bring back those 62 million American lives lost to the tragedy of abortion, but there is hope for the next generation.

As conservatives continue to lead the fight for life, America may indeed experience a post-Roe baby boom – the birth of a new generation that may be the biggest, best, and brightest we have seen in half a century. We will live to see their accomplishments, we will benefit from their contributions, and I believe we will be inspired by their courage and their character. And America will be a nation that truly lives by the principles of its founding, securing the right to life endowed to each of us as children created in the image of God. 

• Mike Pence served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and is the founder of Advancing American Freedom.