Marco Rubio Defends Pro-Life Fight; Challenges ‘Pro-Choice’ Position

At the National Right to Life Convention in New Orleans, Sen. Marco Rubio delivered a sharp rebuke of the “pro-choice” arguments in support of abortion, siding with pro-life activists.

Rubio argued that the pro-life argument was a common sense issue, pointing out that even abortion supporters were reluctant to describe themselves as “pro-abortion.”

“They’ll say they’re pro-choice, but almost everyone I’ve met says they personally disagree with abortion,” he said. “That alone tells us a little about the basic common sense this issue is built on.”

He argued that unborn children have a greater right to exist than their mother’s “choice” to do whatever she wanted with her body.

“Let’s recognize right now that there is a fundamental right to control your body. But there is also another right: the right to life,” he said. “Put another way, the child also has a right to his or her body.”

He also defended the idea that a human embryo was a person, not just a glob of tissue or a collection of cells.

“If it’s not a person, what is it?” he asked. “Because if you left it alone, that’s the only thing it can become. It can’t develop into a pony!”

Rubio described the fight for life as a “definitional issue” of his campaign and “one of the most important battles” in the history of America.

“It is fundamentally impossible for America to reach her destiny as a nation founded on the equal rights of all if our government believes an entire segment of the human population doesn’t have a right to exist,” he said. 

Rubio criticized President Obama’s record of failure in defending life around the world, vowing that he would carry the pro-life fight to the White House, if elected president.

“The White House needs an occupant who values and prioritizes life. And so my pledge to you is this: if you send me to that place, I will not forget this place,” he said. “I will bring our advocacy to the White House, and we’ll get things done. We will advance the cause of life at home and around the world.”