[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S63-S64]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             MARCH FOR LIFE

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, on Friday, as they have done for decades, 
Americans from around the country--many of them young people--took to 
the streets of Washington, DC, to march for life. This year, of course, 
was a little different because for the first time since the march began 
nearly 50 years ago, pro-lifers marched in a post-Roe America.
  On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and 
recognized that the Constitution does not contain a right to abortion, 
that our founding document does not confer a right to deprive one group 
of citizens of their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness simply because they are small and defenseless. The Supreme 
Court's decision marked the righting of a constitutional wrong, and it 
opened up the chance to right a great moral wrong: the legalized 
killing of unborn Americans.
  The Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade does not, of course, make 
abortion illegal, but it does allow State governments and the Federal 
Government to finally begin to establish meaningful protections for 
unborn children.
  The Dobbs decision marked a major victory for the pro-life movement 
and for the babies whose lives are in jeopardy from abortion, but the 
Dobbs decision does not mark an end to the pro-life movement or the 
March for Life but a new beginning.
  The legal fight turns from the courts to Congress and State 
legislatures--in other words, to the democratic process, where this 
issue belongs and has always belonged--and the work to change hearts 
and minds to support moms and babies continues.
  

  The Dobbs decision may have opened the door to meaningful legal 
protections for unborn Americans, but abortion extremists, who 
unfortunately count the majority of the Democratic Party among their 
ranks, are doing everything they can to stand in the way

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of these protections. To give just one example of how far the abortion-
on-demand caucus has taken things, 2 weeks ago, the House of 
Representatives took up legislation to ensure that babies who survive 
abortions and are born alive are guaranteed medical care. Almost every 
single Democrat in the House of Representatives voted against the 
legislation. That is 210 men and women who apparently think that living 
babies who have already been born--already been born--can legitimately 
be left to die or, I suppose, be killed outright by the abortionist. 
That is a horrifying position.
  There is much work to be done to get to a day when a country that is 
supposed to be dedicated to the protection of life and liberty actually 
guarantees the right to life of all Americans, including the most 
vulnerable and most innocent Americans--our unborn children.
  So the March for Life today is more important than ever. The march, 
of course, is just one small facet of the pro-life movement, which 
works every day in every State around the country to help provide help 
and hope to moms in need, but it is nevertheless a vitally important 
facet because the March for Life provides a public witness to the 
humanity of the unborn child and to the great injustice that is 
happening behind closed doors. Abortion happens away from public view, 
so it can be all too easy to forget that every year in this country, 
hundreds of thousands of babies are being killed by abortion.
  The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research organization, 
reported that there were more than 900,000 abortions in 2020--900,000. 
To put that number in perspective, 900,000 is roughly equivalent to the 
entire population of the State of South Dakota--the entire population 
of South Dakota. That is a lot of lives lost, a lot of love lost. Our 
society is a poorer place without those babies, and the March for Life 
reminds us of that. It reminds us that every day, thousands of babies 
lose their lives to abortion. It reminds us of our responsibility to 
confront this injustice and to work for a day when every child enjoys 
the right to life and the full protection of the laws.
  I am profoundly grateful for all those who spent last Friday marching 
for life, and for all the men and women and young people in the pro-
life movement who work every day around this country to help mothers 
and their babies and secure legal protections for unborn Americans. I 
know there are many days when it feels like an uphill battle, but you 
are all on the right side of history. And I am confident that in the 
end, life will prevail.
  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says:

       See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I 
     tell you that their angels in Heaven always see the face of 
     my Father.

  And, again:

       Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, 
     for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

  There is no greater work than standing up for these defenseless 
little ones. I pray that God will bless the efforts of all those 
marching for life and one day soon, every child, born and unborn, will 
enjoy the full protection of our laws.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Texas.

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