John Boehner, the Ohio congressman who is the leading Republican in the House, is not as well known as pro-abortion Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but tonight’s election could change that quickly.
When it comes to the issue of abortion, Boehner has not only been a consistent pro-life advocate with a 100% pro-life voting record, but he’s been recognized by leading pro-life organizations as a champion or hero in protecting unborn children.
Should Republicans capture a majority of the House seats as the votes are counted this evening, the expectation is that Boeher, the Republican minority leader, will ascend to the position of Speaker.
He has received accolades from conservatives for keeping the GOP caucus together in unanimously opposing the abortion-funding ObamaCare bill and he won praise from pro-life advocates for the Pledge to America document outlining how the Republican Party would work to repeal or severely weaken the ObamaCare law and how it would press for a government-wide prohibition on taxpayer-financed abortions.
Boehner, for his part, has been reticent to talk about how he will likely become the leading Republican figure in the federal government — preferring to focus on turning out voters to support GOP candidates today.
“You’ve got to talk to your neighbors; you’ve got to talk to your friends,” Boehner told an enthusiastic crowd at a recent Ohio election rally. “Polls don’t elect people, voters do.”
“If I’m lucky enough to be Speaker, it’s going to be different in Washington,” Boehner said Sunday, according to The Hill.
Compared to pro-abortion Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who frequently misstated the pro-life positions of the Catholic Church to which she belongs and who, on more than one occasion, denied votes to pro-life advocates wanting to limit abortion funding, Boehner will be night and day different.
Although some skeptics question whether pro-life Republican politicos like Boehner are truly pro-life in their convictions or use abortion as an election tool, the answer is clear that pro-life values are personal, not political.
Boehner choked up in May as he received an award at a reception sponsored by Americans United for Life. Boehner received the 2010 Henry J. Hyde Defender of Life Award and he became emotional during his acceptance speech as he talked about his family and Hyde, the pro-life luminary whose name still adorns the annual amendment to stop taxpayer funded abortions outside the health care bill.
“Look, Henry Hyde was a hero of mine,” he said. “I’ve always believed that life begins at conception. I’ve always thought abortion was wrong, and speaking out against it was never difficult. It was a moral position I felt very strongly about.”
Boehner was moved to tears and he lost his composure telling the crowd he has 11 brothers and sisters, saying, “I know it wasn’t convenient for my mother to have 12 of us.”
“But I’m sure glad they’re all here,” he said, as he left the stage, unable to continue.
Boehner also received an award in June from the National Right to Life Committee and the gathering of local pro-life leaders saw him receive praise for his willingness to take time to meet people personally even though he was clearly sick and exhausted.
“In all the important leadership offices he has held, John Boehner has been a faithful defender of unborn children, disabled persons and seniors whose right to life may be jeopardized. He has consistently voted to pass pro-life leg and block anti-life legislation in his two decades in the House,” NRLC co-director Darla St. Martin said in introducing Boehner.
She told the crowd of hundreds of cheering pro-life advocates, “Boehner has been an active supporter of a number of successful pro-life efforts over the years.
“He has been a major impediment to the advance of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid pro-abortion agenda,” she said. “Boehner relentlessly used his office to attempt to thwart” the massive abortion funding in the health care bill and he used the “sheer force of his will as he confronted Pelosi and other pro-abortion leaders” on the legislation.
“Not a single one of the 178 House Republicans voted for that deadly pro-abortion Obamacare bill,” thanks to Boehner, St. Martin added. “On behalf of every pro-lifer here and across America, we thank you John Boehner.”
He accepted the award, saying he was “deeply, deeply honored,” and it is “truly a badge of honor.”
Boehner said: “Respect for life has never been a political position for me, it’s just who I am.”
During his acceptance speech, Boehner said, “America is a nation that is built on freedom, but without respect for life that freedom is in jeopardy Wen we reaffirm our commitment to life we reaffirm our commitment to freedom. We should always err on the side of life and respect the dignity of human life. We have a moral obligation to defend the defenseless and there is nothing more defenseless and more innocent than an unborn baby. The defense of life and the defense of freedom are necessarily linked and, if we accept that, we can’t accept the current agenda in Washington.”
“I never sought to be recognized as a leader of a movement or wear my pro-life credentials on my sleeve. I just voted for what I thought was right and spoke out on what I thought was right. But, if you believe in the right to life, being quiet isn’t good enough,” he concluded. “Any politician can say he or she is pro-life but actions speak louder than words.”
