"19 Kids and Counting" star Josh Duggar recently spoke at a pep rally ahead of the 2015 March for Life to introduce Sen. Rick Santorum in Washington, DC and urge the public to stand behind the nation's leaders who respect the sanctity of human life.
"From birth all the way to natural death, we have to defend the sanctity of human life, and that's what we're here to do today," said the eldest Duggar. "And I'm honored to stand with each of you, and with patriot voices, and with my friend, Rick Santorum."
In 2012, the patriarch of the Duggar family, Jim Bob, brought 12 of the 19 Duggars on the road to campaign for Santorum, a three-day event which Josh said impacted him in a very strong way.
"Watching what God did there gives me hope for America, because I saw people coming out and voicing their concerns for the direction our nation was headed," Josh recalled. " And I saw [Santorum], willing to go out and stand up for what he believed in, a man who made his career standing up for the most vulnerable among us..for the unborn."
The 26 year old Duggar, who works as the executive director of the Family Research Council's legislative branch, FRC Action, then caused the crowd to clap and cheer by asserting," God has given us a higher mandate than government ever will. Government is not God. God alone is God."
As the 2016 campaign season heats up, Josh emphasized the importance of standing behind and praying for God-fearing politicians.
"When you find a leader who is willing to stand up for what's right, you gotta stand behind them," he said. "You have to give them support--they need it. But most of all, they need your prayers."
Josh, who has four children with his wife, Anna, also slammed Congress' decision to drop the "Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," which would ban abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy, arguing that passing that bill is of "utmost importance."
"Congress needs to pass this bill to save the lives of those unborn children," he said, "It needs to be passed soon, and it needs to be passed quickly. We have to stand behind these leaders, we must give them our support."
Following Josh's comments, tens of thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators crowded on to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the 42nd annual March for Life, which coincides with a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
"The pro-life movement is stronger than ever," Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas, who attended the event, told the AP. "It's a reminder that every single life is a gift."
Meanwhile, in Arkansas, the rest of the Duggar clan parcipated in the Arkansas March for Life.
Jessa Seewald, formerly Jessa Duggar, Instagrammed her participation. "Headed to Little Rock right now for the annual March for Life! Join us at our state Capitol at 2pm, and together let us take a stand for the life of the unborn," she wrote.
The Duggars also produced a video documenting their participation in the Little Rock march. "It's really a travesty that there's been almost 60 million babies that have been killed since the last 41 years in America," Jim Bob Duggar says in the video, in which he encourages the family's followers to "go on your social media" and use the hashtag #Istand4life.
