UPDATE: Watch Vice President Mike Pence’s speech here.
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Vice-president Mike Pence is set to become the first-ever sitting president or vice-president to speak in person at the March for Life, an annual event that defends the rights of the unborn.
March organizers released a statement on Thursday evening revealing that Pence will speak at the 44th annual rally, which will be held at 11:45 a.m. on Friday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Previously, Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush have addressed the event remotely, according to the New York Times.
“We are very pleased to welcome Vice President Mike Pence to speak at this year’s March for Life,” Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, said in a statement. “His appearance marks a historic moment for the pro-life movement.”
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Mancini went on to call Pence “a friend and champion of the pro-life cause his entire career,” and said she believes participants will be “thrilled” to hear what he has to say about the issue.
Furthermore, the March for Life head leader said Pence perfectly exemplifies the theme of this year’s march: “Power of One.”
“As a former member of Congress, governor and now vice-president, Mr. Pence has demonstrated throughout his entire career how one person can, indeed, make a difference in the ultimate human right — the right to life,” she said.
Pence will join a plethora of other well-known speakers at the rally, including author Eric Metaxas, Baltimore Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson and White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, among plenty of others.
According to the statement, organizers expect “tens of thousands of Americans” to head to Washington, D.C., for the event. Mancini told Faithwire earlier this week that her organization has been overwhelmed with phone calls and emails from people who are invigorated and interested in coming to the March for Life following last weekend’s Women’s March — an event that openly supported abortion rights and reportedly excluded sponsorships from pro-lifers.
“I think the fact that the pro-life voice was silenced angered some people,” she said.
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Mancini said the response this year has been so big that she had to bring in two full-time volunteers to handle the large volume of phone calls and emails that have come flooding in over the past few days.
“A society that’s going to be most fruitful, have the least amount of crime … is going to be a society where a culture of life and a culture of love is the bedrock foundation,” she told Faithwire.
Find more information about the March for Life here.
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