Former Vice President Mike Pence told Breitbart News exclusively that he is now certain thanks to pro-life activists’ work for the past nearly half century that Roe v. Wade will eventually be overturned, whether it be in a forthcoming ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on a Mississippi abortion law or a future case down the road.
Pence also said he is sure former President Donald Trump would agree with him when he credits the pro-life fighters across America for the landmark change in U.S. abortion policy that seems to be on the horizon.
Pence, who made the comments in an exclusive interview on Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM 125 the Patriot Channel, was speaking in a recorded interview immediately following oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Mississippi abortion law case earlier this week on Wednesday. In the interview which aired on Saturday morning, Pence argued that this moment is possible only because President Trump appointed three pro-life Justices in Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court during his presidency—and that was only possible because of nearly half a century of work of pro-life activists like in the Breitbart News audience working to elect pro-life lawmakers everywhere in America.
Abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion protesters demonstrate in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2021. – The justices weigh whether to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks and overrule the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
“I couldn’t be more proud to have served alongside the most pro-life president in American history,” Pence said. “I mean, President Donald Trump kept his word to the American people—and to appoint strict constructionist strong conservatives not just at the Supreme Court of the United States but nearly 300 federal judges confirmed across the country that, as I said at the National Press Club I don’t know if we will overturn Roe v. Wade in this case, I don’t know if it will happen now. But I know it will happen. Not just because of the renewed conservative majority on the Supreme Court, but because of this extraordinary generation of conservatives that President Trump appointed to our courts all across the country. But I think the President would be quick as I am to say that where the real credit is due is among your listeners who for almost a half a century have never given up on the cause of life, have worked, have prayed, have given, have advocated, have supported pro-life candidates from our ticket to the Congress to state houses to city halls all across America. I know the left thought that the pro-life movement would run out of steam, but as you and I both know it is stronger today than it’s ever been before. In fact, people in your generation are rightly called the pro-life generation because younger Americans grow more and more pro-life every day. In a very real sense, whether it be students for life around the country or all of the youth pro-life movements, it’s young people, young women and men in America that are driving us to this moment. So I give great credit to President Trump and in our administration’s effort to thoughtfully consider judicial appointments and to keep our word to the American people to appoint conservatives, but it was the strength of 74 million Americans all across this country who stood with us in in 2020, who stood for life in all the decades before that. If our hope and our prayers are fulfilled and Roe versus Wade is overturned, the credit will go to the American people who never gave up on life and by their efforts restored the sanctity of life to the center of American law.”
Pence’s interview came right after the conclusion of oral arguments before the high court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case which will determine whether Mississippi’s law can stand. The Supreme Court may actually overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that set the tone for abortion for nearly 50 years, as part of its ruling on this case.
“I have to tell you, I’m very encouraged,” Pence said when asked to react to the oral arguments. “I thought the solicitor of Mississippi and his focus on the people’s ability to decide the issue of abortion at the state level was very well presented. In my remarks to the National Press Club the day before oral arguments that that was essentially the case that we made. We know that the the left will will continue to make the argument against overturning Roe v. Wade, they’ll continue to paint a dark picture of America but more than 60 million unborn children have have lost their lives since Roe v. Wade was issued by the Supreme Court in 1973. Nearly 50 years on and the time has come to return this great moral question to the states and to the people. To hear the solicitor of Mississippi, Mr. Stewart, make that case very eloquently before the Supreme Court was an a great encouragement to me and my hope and my prayer, literally, is that it will persuade our new conservative majority on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and give America a new beginning for life.”
Asked, too, what he thinks of where things stand after hearing comments and questions from the various Supreme Court Justices during the oral arguments, Pence said he is hopeful.
“I think we have a great opportunity for a fresh start on life in America,” Pence said. “I thought that was evident today. Of course, three of those justices I’m proud to say were appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed during our administration. I had the privilege of interviewing all the finalists for the Supreme Court all three rounds. The President asked me to sit down to spend personal time. I can tell you that not only are appointees but Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been a stalwart for life and for overturning Roe v. Wade throughout his long and storied career on the Court, Justice Alito and I would also say that I would continue to hold out hope that the Chief Justice Roberts would see his way clear to the wisdom of overturning Roe versus Wade. There’s lots of legal theories about what could happen here, but the legal scholars that I respect the most hold the view that when you look at Roe versus Wade, you look at its progeny and in the Casey case the viability standard that exists today, I think all point to the the best, the cleanest, the strongest decision the Supreme Court can make in this moment is simply to overturn Roe v. Wade, reject that framework, and allow states and the people to once again have the power to resolve this question. Now, that doesn’t mean the debate over abortion will end by any means, but it will then move to the states and move to the people. I relish the opportunity of taking the case for life to one state legislature after another all across America. I’m very encouraged at the opportunity that we have in this case, and we’ll just continue to hope to be a voice but also to pray for a new beginning for life.”
Pence had delivered an address at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, the day before oral arguments on the matter. As Breitbart News reported ahead of the speech, Pence laid out just how devastating Roe v. Wade has been for the world and just how many unborn babies were killed as a result of the decision. Asked about those speech comments, Pence told Breitbart News that the vast majority of abortion clinics are in minority areas and that tens of millions of American lives have been taken by abortion.
“It grieves the heart of every American who cherishes the right to life to think that more than 60 million innocent, defenseless unborn babies were aborted since Roe v. Wade was issued by the Court in 1973,” Pence said. “But we do well to remember the incalculable promise of every one of those lives. It’s a number essentially equal to 20 percent of the American population today that is not with us. In a very real sense what Roe vs. Wade did was it relegated unborn children to a second class pass with no legal protections completely outside the scope of the law. Also, as I reflected at the at the Press Club yesterday, America’s largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood of America—as you know, I authored the first legislation to defund Planned Parenthood back in 2007—but the largest abortion provider in America was founded by a woman named Margaret Sanger who was an open advocate of eugenics and she advanced the cause of abortion for specifically racist intentions. Planned Parenthood today has the majority of its clinics in minority areas. Even though blacks and Hispanics represent only a third of our population, they represent two thirds of the abortions in America so whether it’s the impact specifically on minorities over the scope of history, whether it be the loss of so many tens of millions of lives, or whether it be the loss of the incalculable promise of each and every one of those lives, I do believe as I said at the National Press Club that it has been in every real sense an affront to humanity and it’s time to put Roe versus Wade on the ash heap of history where it belongs. We can trust the American people to resolve this issue and to have these debates and I know that the left not only today but on every day between now and when the Supreme Court makes their decision in the Dobbs case that that we’re going to continue to hear the the scare tactics of the left. But at the end of the day this is about trusting the American people and recognizing that it was through the legislative process at the state levels that we ended abortion in the 19th century and early 20th century and I trust the American people with the cause of life. I’m hopeful and I’ll say optimistic that this Supreme Court, this renewed conservative majority on the Supreme Court of the United States, appointed by a Republican president and the most pro-life administration in history will give us that new beginning for life.”
Pro-life activists gather in front of the US Supreme Court at the 44th annual March for Life on January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. Anti-abortion activists are gathering for the 44th annual March for Life in Washington, protesting the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
That speech from Pence was part of a series of speeches he has been giving in recent months focused on laying out a policy vision for the future of the country. He has delivered a law and order focused address in Portland, Oregon, an education focused address in Virginia, a China focused address at the Heritage Foundation and more.
“I went to Virginia in June and spoke in Loudoun County about a week before that historic Republican victory,” Pence said. “We gave a speech on educational choice there and got a tremendous response from all those courageous parents that were standing up for the right of parents to be in the driver’s seat on their children’s education. It’s been a great privilege for me to be traveling across the country.”
Pence has also been active fundraising for GOP candidates and lawmakers ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, and has made a number of trips to early 2024 presidential primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
“I will tell you that for 2022 all of my focus is entirely going to be on winning back the Congress, winning back the Senate—and electing and reelecting strong conservatives in state houses all across the country,” Pence said. “I honestly believe that 2022 is an opportunity not just for a winning election but it’s an opportunity for a realignment election. I think if all of us do all that we need to do in the next year, to be the loyal opposition to be holding the Biden administration accountable for its cascading failures—whether it be the worst border crisis in 30 years, the worst inflation in decades, whether it be the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan—a combination of radical left ideology and incompetence is failing the country every day, and we need to make that case. But in the days ahead, I’m also going to look forward to build on that portfolio of speeches I’ve been giving to make sure that we lay out a positive vision for the American people. The Bible says without a vision, the people perish. I can honestly tell you that when we defeated the Nancy Pelosi’s majority in 2010, I was the conference chairman in the House of Representatives and we won 63 seats that year because we did both things. We held them accountable, held their feet to the fire, we fought them hard on every one of their liberal issues. Secondly, we articulated a positive conservative agenda grounded in conservative principles. We carried the day in 2010. I really believe in my heart of hearts we’re going to win back the Congress in 2022. On that foundation we will win back America in 2024.”
Asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi getting caught again violating public health guidance from President Joe Biden by not wearing a mask in a crowded indoor setting—Breitbart News published the exclusive last week—Pence said “I heard” about it.
“We are going to retire Speaker Nancy Pelosi once and for all in 2022,” Pence said. “Everyone hearing the sound of my voice ought to be doing everything in their power to support, to canvass, to campaign, and to pray for all the courageous men and women who are stepping forward in these congressional races around the country. We have a profound opportunity to turn back this big government socialist freight train that is being being run by Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer and replace it with a freedom majority in the United States House and the United States Senate. I’m absolutely committed to doing my part to support our team all across the country. Look, it’s that hypocrisy though—you remember the hairdresser visit even, more than a year ago—when I led the White House Coronavirus Task Force, it was all about taking the steps that were necessary so that the American people, our families and our healthcare workers in the states had the resources to meet this moment. But it was all about empowering people to make decisions for their own family and for their own health. When we reinvented testing from a standing start, and had hundreds of millions of tests in just a matter of months, when we develop therapeutics, when we saw to the distribution of literally billions of medical supplies, shipped all across the country—and then when we did what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi said couldn’t be done, and that is we produced safe and effective vaccines before the end of the year that have now vaccinated nearly 200 million Americans in one year alone. We did all of that for a free society.”
Pence also commended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in particular, and generally GOP governors who have stood up for freedom against Biden’s policies.
“I want to commend Governor DeSantis and Governor Abbott and the other governors around the country who have understood that,” Pence said. “I have to tell you, I was taken aback when President Joe Biden gave the speech in August when he announced his unconstitutional vaccine mandate. You remember it when he said ‘we have been patient, but our patience is running thin’? Then he went on to say what I thought was even even more egregious. He said, ‘this is not about freedom.’ Well, America is about freedom. This is a free society. Everything other than the face of the American people the only thing that explains the extraordinary prosperity of our long and storied history is freedom. So as we have met this moment in this pandemic in an Herculean ways and literally created medicines that are saving people around the world, I commend all of those across the country that are that are standing up for the basic principle that this is a free country. You know, I got a vaccine, I got a booster, I encourage everybody to do it. But that’s your call. That’s your decision. And we’ve got to keep America open, keep America recovering, and our anthem has to be freedom.”
Asked about his future and whether he intends to run for president in 2024 himself, Pence said he is not sure yet—but that he is committed to the cause of retaking GOP majorities in Congress and then in 2024 removing the Biden administration to replace him with a Republican.
“The calling of my life is the conservative cause in this country. It’s been a joy for me to be out on the road across the country,” Pence said. “Those speeches that you’ve talked about, the work that we’re doing at the foundation, we created Advancing American Freedom, the podcast—I’m going to continue to be a voice for conservative values, for a strong national defense, for less government, less taxes, for traditional moral values and the right to life. I’m going to be out there campaigning all this next year for people who share those values and want to bring this country back. We’ll let the future take care of itself. Come 2023, we’ll look around, we’ll reflect, we’ll pray, and we’ll go where we’re called. But for now, I just encourage every one of the great Breitbart News Saturday listeners to just focus on 2022. We have an extraordinary opportunity to win back the Congress, to win back state houses across America and we’ll lay a foundation to win back this country in 2024.”
LISTEN TO FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE ON BREITBART NEWS SATURDAY:
Exclusive — Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts: ‘I’m Convinced Roe v. Wade Is Going to Be Overturned’ JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images 5:11
Kevin Roberts, the new president of the conservative Heritage Foundation who identifies pro-life matters as his top issue, told Breitbart News Saturday that he is confident Roe v. Wade will be overturned, and he previewed the path for Republican victories moving forward, advising GOP lawmakers to “acknowledge the frustration that Americans, some of whom are apolitical, are feeling about government overreach.”
The launching of the Heritage Foundation in 1973 coincided with the landmark Roe v. Wad e decision decades ago, and host Matthew Boyle noted that Roberts started his position as the organization’s president the same week that oral arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization , which could potentially overturn the 1973 decision, began.
“In the depths of the aftermath of the Roe decision in 1973, what happened, I would say provided by Providence, is the conservative movement grew up,” Roberts said, pointing to Reagan’s presidency and categorizing him as “both a reflection of that maturation of conservatism but also of course … [as] a leader who helped define that in much the same way that President Trump has done that decades down the road.”
Roberts, too, acknowledged that his first day as president this week coincided with the oral arguments for the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.
Anti-abortion demonstrators are seen outside of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC on November 1, 2021. The Supreme Court is set to hear challenges to Texas’ restrictive abortion laws. – The conservative-majority US Supreme Court hears challenges on Monday to the most restrictive law passed since abortion was made a constitutional right nearly 50 years ago — a Texas bill that bans a woman from terminating a pregnancy after six weeks. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
“I thought gosh, the second half century of the Heritage Foundation of the conservative movement is going to be defined by a post-Roe world. In other words, I’m convinced Roe v. Wade is going to be overturned,” he said, adding that, even if something short of that happened due to Chief Justice Roberts finding some way to “thread the needle in an improper or legal way,” it is still “going to be our project.”
“We will have made great progress in ending abortion on demand,” he said, identifying the Heritage Foundation as one of the stalwarts of the movement, particularly the pro-life movement, and categorizing pro-life as the number one issue for him.
Roberts said they also aim to “make sure our understanding of what it means to be pro-life includes things like tackling the deterioration of the nuclear family,” as well as addressing families left behind by globalization.
LISTEN:
More generally, Roberts said conservatives need to do a number of things to defeat the left. First and foremost, Republicans must “acknowledge the frustration that Americans, some of whom are apolitical, are feeling about government overreach.” He directly pointed to the public instances of frustrated parents, most of whom are generally apolitical. He noted those people typically do not think about politics all the time, but stressed that it “isn’t because they’re dumb. In fact, the exact opposite. They’re running their lives.”
“This is the point for conservatives. The market, the market being those parents, those voters, is telling us, is sending us a signal that they want us to fight,” he said, adding that they’re looking to the movement to provide a pathway. While he said the Heritage Foundation needs to continue to diagnose public policy problems and provide solutions, it will also do a “better job of providing the intellectual ammunition for grassroots people to go fight those fights at local and state levels.” Roberts also said the organization will continue to be headquartered in D.C. but will be spending “a lot more time and resources in the states at the local level.”
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images
“If we do those things, not only are we going to win in the midterms in ’22 and take the White House, we’re going to set forth this long-lasting conservative movement just as we were doing in the late 70s on the cusp of Ronald Reagan’s election,” he predicted.
Roberts also detailed the “unprecedented” step the Heritage Foundation took by filing a lawsuit against President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate.
He acknowledged it was an unusual move, as the organization often plays behind the scenes, but he told the board that they recognize the mandate is unconstitutional, and even though they are optimistic about the other cases prevailing across the country, “the reality is, sitting in the middle of the nation’s capital under a mayor who is very left of center, we’re not 100 percent sure that those other cases are going to win.”
“So at Heritage, we need to call a spade a spade and let people know I as the president will never solicit private health information from our employees,” he said, noting that, for the first time in their 48-year history, they filed suit as the plaintiff. It is going to the Sixth Circuit, and he said the chances of prevailing are “very good.”
Roberts offered a final word of advice to Republican Party leaders moving forward.
“Republicans in this town, I’m calling you from D.C. today, you need to spend less time worrying about winning the next election and more time doing what’s right,” he said, emphasizing that they need to be conservatives and worry less about the “R” label.
Heritage Foundation, he assured, will “always call a spade a spade” and hold Republicans accountable.
No comments:
Post a Comment