Andrew Clyde: “I thank Chairman Perry for leading the House Freedom Caucus and for leading this Special Order. The Declaration of…”

“I thank Chairman Perry for leading the House Freedom Caucus and for leading this Special Order. The Declaration of Independence--what an incredible document that was--that was truly the birth certificate, I believe, of our Nation. It was the promise, I would call it, and the Constitution was the fulfillment of that promise. In the Declaration of Independence, it says--and you have heard this mentioned tonight, but I echo it: ``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.'' The very first among those unalienable rights is life. ``That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.'' So who is responsible for securing that right of life? Well, that is the government--``deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.'' That is us. That is the American people. That is who consents to the government. That right of life is endowed by our Creator--by God. God gives you a right. Who can take it away? I don't think anyone can take it away. Our Declaration recognizes that some people will try, and so our government is supposed to protect that right. I am so thankful that our Supreme Court, which is one of our coequal branches of government, that they actually stood up after 49 years to defend that right to life.…”