Speaking at the Susan B. Anthony List’s Campaign for Life Gala in Washington, D.C., former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley described abortion as anti-feminist and discussed how her pro-life position has personal significance.
“You can’t truly stand for America if you don’t stand for all Americans, including the babies who don’t have a voice,” started in Haley on Monday, adding, “The unborn are the voiceless ones; we are their voice.”
Pro-lifers “have endured more than your fair share of name-calling and abuse,” continued the former South Carolina governor. “The most strident attacks came from my fellow women. You’ve heard it all before: Pro-life women are traitors to their gender; if you truly care about women’s rights, we would support abortion rights. Women are expected to support choice, simply because we’re women. That’s just wrong. We all have to be true to ourselves and to others.”
“Unfortunately, many on the Left use the abortion debate to divide women and demand conformity,” she continued. “They do this in the name of feminism. But that is not real feminism.”
“The idea that women must adhere to a particular set of values is one of the most anti-women ideas in today’s culture. It is a rejection of the ideas of equality and tolerance that the women’s movement is supposed to be about,” she added.
Haley then addressed how the pro-life position holds personal significance, à la her husband.
“Many of you know I am married to my incredible, super-cool husband Michael; he’s a combat veteran and a major in the South Carolina national guard,” she said. “But many don’t know that Michael and his four siblings spent many years in foster care. Foster care can be amazing, but it was not kind to Michael and his siblings; it was unkind. Luckily, when Michael was five, he and his younger sister were adopted by a kind, loving couple who couldn’t have children of their own.”
“I often think about what would have happened if Michael hadn’t been so lucky, if his biological mother had chosen a different path, if his adoptive parents hadn’t been so compassionate,” she told the audience.
“In politics, people assume that if you’re Republican you’re pro-life because that’s what the party tells you to be. I’m pro-life because I get the chance to spend every day with my husband, knowing that I am blessed,” the former ambassador explained.
Haley noted that she and her husband had a hard time conceiving a child before their daughter was born. These experiences, she said, helped affirm what she already knew: “that each and every life is a gift from God, that so many loving families want more than anything to raise and love a child.”
“I can’t stomach the idea that we wouldn’t do everything in our power to protect and nurture those lives,” she added.
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