October 26, 2023
The Pro-Life Generation was pleased to see our friend and pro-life champion from Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson recently get voted in as the new Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Students for Life Action (SFLAction) has enjoyed working towards pro-life progress with Johnson for years now, and we look forward to continuing our partnership as he’s entered his new role. Here’s why you should be just as excited about his victory as we are:
(To read our initial press statement about Johnson winning the vote, click HERE.)
Johnson Has a Proven Track Record Protecting Life
He’s earned an A+ rating on SFLAction’s 2022 Pro-Life Generation Congressional Report Card — and that’s not easy to come by. In order to receive the highest score possible, legislators can’t just say they’re pro-life; they must show their life-affirming beliefs through votes and sponsoring legislation. A brief scroll through the entire Report Card makes it clear that just having a ‘R’ (for Republican) next to a politicians’ name doesn’t equal an automatic ‘A.’
Johnson had to work hard for the pro-life movement in order to receive such a rating; to check out how he voted on different bills relating to life, click HERE.
Beyond this, Johnson also shared with SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins in a previous SFLAction webcast that his very first case out of law school was an abortion malpractice suit. Explaining his first case that helped shape his pro-life career, Johnson said:
“It’s a long story, and I’m convinced that one day there will be a book written about the saga, but it was a poor, young lady from South Louisiana who was maimed at the Delta Women’s Clinic in Baton Rouge which was infamous at the time for being one of the filthiest places anywhere, and long story short, in the course of discovery of that litigation, we uncovered some pretty astounding, shocking information.
“We got video inside the clinic of rusted surgical instruments and bloody operating procedure rooms — just filthy conditions. That video was used on the floor of the Louisiana legislature…and it was the catalyst for us to draft the first clinic regulations, and those became a model for other states.”
Through his law firm, Johnson has also done extensive legal work for pregnancy resource centers nationwide and pro-life advocacy organizations. Clearly, he is a well-rounded fighter for the pro-life movement.
His Personal Story Propels Him to Pursue Action
Beyond his scientific and moral understanding that compel him to protect the preborn, one of the reasons Johnson is passionately pro-life is actually because of his personal story. In the same webcast, he told Hawkins that he was one of the babies that are usually targeted by the abortion industry as his parents were only teenagers in high school when they conceived him.
He shared, “I am personally the result of a teen pregnancy. My parents dated since the seventh grade, and I was conceived their junior year of high school. This was in 1972 — a year before Roe — and a lot of their friends tried to convince my mom, who was just barely 17 at the time, to ‘take care of the problem.’ Thankfully, they were raised with values that something in them told them that was wrong so here I am. I’m the oldest of four kids. This is personal to me.”
He Believes in Peaceful Persistence — Not Passivity
In the face of an abortion lobby filled with hatred, it can be difficult to be pro-life. We are verbally and physically assaulted, bullied, intimidated and even threatened with death — making our activism often uncomfortable or dangerous. However, as the pro-life movement, we are called to unswervingly continue the fight with compassion, and this is exactly what Johnson emulates as he chooses peaceful persistence over passivity.
Sharing with Hawkins that he chooses to remember what the Apostle Paul told Timothy about respecting your opponents in hopes that they one day will join your side, Johnson told the Pro-Life Generation, “When you’re at a protest and they’re screaming at you, hurling insults and terrible names, and waving these wretched signs, remember…they are just deceived, and we have to love them through it. Always keep that perspective, and it will help you keep your chin up and your optimism up.”
Congratulations once again, Speaker Johnson! The Pro-Life Generation is behind you, and we look forward to your pro-life leadership in the House.
To watch the entire SFLAction webinar with Speaker Johnson, click HERE.