Congressman John Boehner, a pro-life advocate who led the fight against the abortion-funding ObamaCare legislation in the House was unanimously elected today by his Republican colleagues to become the next Speaker.
GOP members of the incoming Congress held a closed-door vote during a meeting in the Longworth House Office building.
Boehner faced no opposition and three pro-life House members, Reps. Dave Camp of Michigan, Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia and Steve Stivers of Boehner’s home state of Ohio, placed his name into nomination and gave speeches on his behalf.
“Since his first days in Congress, John Boehner has stood up to Washington and stood up for the American people,” said Camp, according to a Politico report. “As one of the architects of the Contract with America, John demanded the federal government be more limited and more responsive to the needs of the American people.”
Republicans also elected pro-life Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia as majority leader, pro-life Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California as majority whip, and pro-life Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas as Republican Conference chair.
Charmaine Yoest, the president of Americans United for Life, cogratulated Boehner and promised pro-life advocates he would take their concerns to heart.
“Speaker Boehner has told me he wants to be the most pro-life Speaker ever,” she told LifeNews.com. “We are delighted to see that the recipient of our 2010 Defender of Life Award will be the new Speaker of the House. We look forward to working with Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and these new pro-life leaders of the House of Representatives.”
“The Obama Administration has been the most pro-abortion presidency in history and authored the largest expansion of taxpayer funded abortion ever in the Obama-Pelosi health care law. We look forward to working with the new House leadership to repeal and replace this destructive legislation. American voters agree: taxpayer-funded abortion is not acceptable,” Boehner added.
Boehner is not as well known as pro-abortion soon-to-be former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but that will be changing.
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.
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 Americadocument 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.
Compared to 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 Mayas 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. When 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.”
