Standing Up for Life
By Sen. John Thune
On January 22, we observed the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade – the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. It’s a somber day every year, as we contemplate the millions of lives lost to abortion since the Roe v. Wade decision.
But I’m always encouraged by the tens of thousands of Americans who travel to Washington, D.C., around the Roe v. Wade anniversary to participate in the annual March for Life. Americans from every state in the union, of every political persuasion, of every religion (or none at all), come together in D.C. to stand up for the dignity and value and humanity of the unborn child.
Abortion advocates would like to obscure the fact that unborn babies are human beings, but they face an uphill battle. Because every person knows, on some level, that when we’re talking about abortion, we are talking about killing a human being.
Take one look at an ultrasound, at a baby girl sucking her thumb or a baby boy kicking his feet, and it’s pretty hard to argue that that’s just a clump of cells. And I believe that this is why, despite years of fierce abortion advocacy from the far left, the majority of Americans do not believe in unrestricted abortion – because they know that the unborn child is a human being, and they know that human beings deserve to be protected.
Like many things during this pandemic, this year’s March for Life looked different. Instead of gathering in Washington, D.C., Americans around the country gathered in spirit – and on the internet – to stand up for life. But their enthusiasm was undimmed.
I’m proud of all the South Dakotans who participated in the virtual March for Life this year – and all the South Dakotans who stand up for life throughout the year. Because as important as the March for Life is, the biggest work of the pro-life movement happens outside the March for Life. It happens in churches and on college campuses and at maternity homes and crisis pregnancy centers – everywhere Americans pray and advocate and educate and offer help and hope and support to moms and dads facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies.
I will continue to work in Washington to protect the right to life of unborn human beings. I recently joined a number of pro-life colleagues to co-sponsor the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act and the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. It is unthinkable that it is legal to allow unborn babies capable of feeling pain to be killed by abortion. I’ve co-sponsored this legislation in previous Congresses, and I will continue to co-sponsor it until the day we can get it signed into law.
I am proud to stand beside all those who work to secure the right to life of unborn Americans. I know that it is not always easy. But I am confident that in the end, right and justice will prevail. Because we have the truth on our side – the truth that every human being, born and unborn, old or young, of every race and religion and political persuasion, is created in the image and likeness of God and has infinite dignity and value.
So keep standing up for the babies. And I will continue to join my efforts with yours so that one day soon, the right to life of unborn human beings will be protected in law.
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Too little too late: we had a pro-life POTUS and you wouldn’t support his re-election. Now Biden’s got us all paying for abortions. It only took him 8 days to rescind the Mexico City Rule and now we’re keeping the lights on in abortion clinics all over the world.
I remember before 2016 Thune was against Trump, and Daugaard as well. Dennis is gone, maybe John too.
Behind closed doors Donald Trump mocks the gullible pro-lifers who support him. Senator Thune has more integrity in his left pinky.
Thank you Senator Thune for being a unwavering supporter of Life. As importantly, you have worked hard to change the hearts and minds of people who struggle with banning abortion or identify with the trauma or pressure from husbands, boyfriends, and fathers a woman often must contend.
You may or may not really be for the preservation of life, hard for me to believe either with your actions lately, but you are not for Fighting when you should be. You are the managed decline of the Republican party. When you should have stood up and fought you were not even silent but you were in fact a turn coat trader. The republican Party will not receive a dollar from me as long as you are representing the party. My suggestion to you is after this term you should retire to let someone who represents the constituency of our state better. If you had any Honor left Mr. Thune you would resign without a fight for the good of the party, like you were suggesting Trump do. I will invest every bit of effer, money, and time I have to make sure you are Primaried in 2022.
John Thune was Republican before Donald Trump found it useful to have an R behind his name.
Yes, John Thune was Republican before Donald Trump. Donald Trump represented the values that Republicans claim to espouse in his four years as President better than most Republicans in the House or Senate. I have yet to hear what John Thune is doing to get the Biden Administration to change its change of the Mexico City Rule.
Donald Trump represented nothing more or less than the values of Donald Trump’s hyperinflated ego. Give him credit for somehow figuring out that his phony pandering to evangelical Christians would be a boon to the consolidation of his political power.
9:54:
You’re disgusting to me. John Thune has worked his ass of his entire career for RTL issues in his actions. You hold up Trump in saint-like status yet his previous actions and words have defied Republican and conservative virtues. Below is the text of an interview in 2011 before he decided to run for President.
Trump supported abortion rights in 1999, according to a 2011 article in National Journal. At the time, Trump said, “I hate the concept of abortion, but I am strongly pro-choice.” He also expressed a desire to see “the abortion issue removed from politics” because “it is a personal decision that should be left to the women and their doctors.”[16]
Granted. You have never changed your view? I too was at one time Pro Choice. I also did not like the idea of abortion. After learning more as I aged, I discovered the new life being created was happening at an earlier and earlier time during gestation. My views evolved. I respect a person who can say he/she has changed his/her mind.
Continuing to learn more as you age, you’ll hopefully discover that Donald Trump is a con artist and sociopath.
I don’t care if he’s a con artist and sociopath. He had good policies.
I liked the tax cuts. I liked what he did to the Clean Water Act. ( I had emailed Thune’s office about the WOTUS rule back when it came up and got no response by the way.)
In a lot of ways Trump reminds me of some of the most skilled surgeons I’ve ever met. They’re assholes; obnoxious, arrogant dickheads. But I wouldn’t want anybody else cutting me.
This really is about the weakest reason every to criticize Thune as compared to Trump. It shows how Trump has become a cult figure for some people.
no Troy you are wrong. Whatever motivated Trump, whether it was narcissism or ideology, the result was, he stood up for Republican values and kept his promises.
Complaining that his motives were not pure nor his beliefs genuine is ridiculous. Look at what he DID. Who cares WHY he did anything?
Believe it or not, most people don’t care why anybody does anything, We’re told we should give a hoot about extenuating circumstances and motivations, but in truth, we don’t. If we cared we would all be psychologists and social workers.
It’s what a person actually does that matters. That’s all that ever matters at the end of the day. Nor does it matter what anybody says, either.
Thune can say all the right things about abortion and how dedicated he is to the cause of ending it, but some of us will remember he didn’t do anything to prevent the election of Joe Biden.