On the recordJanuary 23, 2012
We often come to the podium to talk about a bill or piece of legislation. Today I have the great privilege to stand in support of protecting every human life. In Kansas is a place that has marked a great piece in the history of the pro-life movement. In the early 1990s, the Summer of Mercy was held in Kansas. A huge step forward in people speaking out about the tragedy that is abortion. I, personally, a couple years later had the privilege of working doing some research for a woman named Mary Ann Glendon, who became the ambassador of the Vatican, who taught me about how this movement can work, and how we can begin to eradicate this plague that sits on top of America after still 39 years. For me, too, it's personal. I have a nephew and a niece that, but for a pregnancy crisis center in Wichita, Kansas, would not be my niece of 6, Emily, and my nephew of 10, James. Two brave women who made the right decision. Today was an incredible privilege. I got to stand at the Mall and look out at hundreds of thousands of folks, including enormous groups of young people who came from Kansas on buses of 25-hour rides from Clearwater and from Norwich and from Garden Plain, and from our high schools and colleges in Kansas who came today to stand for life and to say that this movement will continue, that we are winning, that after 39 years we can now say that America understands that this is not about choice but about protecting those lives.…
