House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested at a pro-life rally in Washington Friday that his teenage parents nearly aborted him, which is why he is staunchly against the procedure.
“We all have a reason that we believe so strongly in this principle and my life story is that one,” Johnson told attendees at the 53rd annual March for Life rally in the nation’s capital.
“In two sentences, I was the product of an unplanned teen pregnancy exactly one year before Roe in January of 1972. And a lot of people try to convince my very young parents that they should just take care of that problem,” the House speaker revealed.
Johnson added that he is “eternally grateful” his parents “allowed me the chance at life.”
The Louisiana Republican’s personal anecdote was met with raucous applause.
“I think of the millions of children that did not have that same opportunity, and every single child deserves the opportunity to fulfill their God-given potential,” Johnson continued. “And it is up to us to defend that freedom and that right, that essential freedom to be born, the unalienable right to life that is imperiled in our generation, and we’re so grateful that you are willing to march and stand and speak for that issue.”
In a video message, President Trump told rallygoers the pro-life movement is a “battle that must be fought” and “must be won.”
“[N]ot only in the corridors of power, but above all, in the hearts and souls of the people,” the president argued. “That is why, under the Trump administration, we’re strongly defending religious liberty. We’re bringing back faith in America. We’re bringing back God.”
Vice President JD Vance appeared at the rally in person – days after announcing that he and his wife Usha are expecting their fourth child.
“I told you all that one of the things I most wanted in the United States of America was more families and more babies,” the vice president said. “So let the record show you have a vice president who practices what he preaches.”
