Mike Pence to Speak at March for Life; Franklin Graham 'Thankful' for VP Who 'Takes a Bold Stand for Life'

Jan 27, 2017 11:26 AM EST

Franklin Graham has said he is thankful the United States finally has a Vice President who is "not ashamed of his Christian faith and who takes a bold stand for life" after it was announced that Mike Pence will headline the 44th "March for Life" rally.

"I'm pleased to see that our new Vice President Mike Pence will be speaking at tomorrow's March for Life rally in Washington, D.C.," the leader of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse wrote in a Facebook post. "This is a cause worth speaking out on-life. I hope this event will draw the attention of millions, and that it will begin a movement of prayer and steps to bring change to protect the unborn in this nation."

He added, "It's criminal that what should be the safest place on earth for a baby has become the most dangerous and vulnerable. I'm thankful that America has a Vice President who is not ashamed of his Christian faith and who takes a bold stand for life-aren't you?"

LifeSiteNews notes that Pence, who has called himself an "evangelical Catholic," signed what was considered some of the strictest laws on abortion during his time as Governor of Indiana.

Mike Pence
(Photo : Reuters/Mike Blake )

Mike Pence. October 19, 2016 09:15pm EDT

During the vice presidential debate in October, Pence reaffirmed his pro-life stance: "I would tell you - the sanctity of life proceeds out of the belief that ancient principle where God says before you were formed in the womb I knew you, and so for my first time in public life, I sought to stand with great compassion for the sanctity of life," he said during the debate.  "Society will be judged by how it defends its most vulnerable - the aged, the infirm, the disabled, and the unborn." 

While Ronald Reagan made a video for the March for Life in 1988 and George W. Bush called in to the march in 2008, Pence will be the first president or vice president to speak at the march, according to the Chicago Tribune.

"We're going to have heavy administration presence there," confirmed White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday. "It's no secret that this administration and this president will do what they can to fight for life."

The March for Life, held today, is the largest pro-life rally in the U.S. The New York Daily News notes that attendance for the march in 2016 and 2015 numbered in the tens of thousands, and the march's biggest year on record was in 2013, when organizers estimated more than 600,000 people showed up.

In a statement, March for Life President Jeanne Mancini said "the number most important for us is 58 million, which is the number of Americans that have been lost to abortion."

Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager and now Counselor to the President, will also speak along with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rep. Mia Love (R-UT), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), and NFL star Ben Watson.