By Matt Hadro
Washington D.C., May 4, 2017 / 17:39 pm
"Life is winning in America," U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told attendees at a pro-life gala on Wednesday evening in Washington, D.C.
"Life is winning through the steady advance of so many areas of science" that provide a glimpse at the unborn baby in the womb, the vice president said, "through the generosity of millions of adoptive families," and "through the compassionate caregivers and volunteers at crisis pregnancy centers and faith-based organizations, who minister to women in cities and towns across America."
"Compassion is overcoming convenience, hope is defeating despair," he said.
Pence delivered the keynote address at the 10th annual gala of the Susan B. Anthony List on May 3rd in Washington, D.C.
The pro-life group honored Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) with the Marilyn Musgrave Defender of Life Award, and Leonard Leo, the executive vice president of The Federalist Society, with the 2017 Distinguished Leader Award.
SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser, in a statement, praised Black's "tireless efforts to investigate and defund Planned Parenthood, the nation's #1 abortion business, and redirect their taxpayer dollars to real, comprehensive health care for women."
Black sponsored a joint resolution, ultimately signed by President Trump, that nullified an Obama administration rule which pro-life leaders had called the President's "parting gift to the abortion industry." Black's resolution allowed states to, once again, block clinics from receiving federal Title X grants if they performed abortions.
Vice President Pence had cast the tiebreaking vote in the U.S. Senate to ensure the passage of the resolution.
Leo, meanwhile, was credited for his work to help the Trump administration nominate Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, a pick that pro-life leaders applauded.
SBA List highlighted Pence's past pro-life record as a U.S. congressman and as governor of Indiana, sponsoring "more than two dozen pro-life bills in the U.S. House of Representatives" as well as signing pro-life legislation into law in his state.
He also became the first sitting vice president to address the March for Life, this past January.
White House senior advisor Kellyanne Conway briefly addressed the gala attendees at the beginning of Wednesday's event, thanking them for their help in defending human life and promising that more would be done by the administration to protect life.
Pence, in his keynote speech, emphasized that "life is winning" in many ways, including "through the quiet counsel between mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters," he continued, "friends across kitchen tables."
He exhorted those in attendance to carry on the work of Susan B. Anthony, known for her activism for the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage and women's rights, and temperance. "Let us strive with all our might to finish the work that Susan B. Anthony started," he said.
Susan B. Anthony fought against injustices, too many of which "still survive to this day," Pence said, "and abortion is the worst of them."
"I truly believe that we've come to a pivotal moment in the life of this movement, the life of our nation," he said, asking those in attendance to "continue to stand up and speak out."
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"We need every ounce of your energy and enthusiasm," he said. "We need your prayers."
The recent passage of Rep. Black's joint resolution was only "the beginning" of the fight, Pence said, and "we're going to see that fight all the way through."
