Huckabee stresses importance of valuing life ‘from womb to tomb’
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 12/02/2009
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Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee spoke at the Tippecanoe County Right to Life banquet Tuesday night and challenged those in the audience to take a strong stance for life “from the womb to the tomb.”
The banquet took place in the Purdue Memorial Union Ballroom. Huckabee said life issues are moral issues.
“For me, it’s not a political issue, it’s a matter of principle,” he said. “Some people try to make it an issue of abortion, but it’s really about every human life having value, dignity and intrinsic worth.
“People say I’m anti-abortion. That does not describe me actively, accurately or efficiently. I’m not anti- anything. I am for treating people as I’d like to be treated,” he said.
According to Huckabee, if a culture begins to devalue human life in any way, it becomes harder to draw the line of whose lives are more important. Huckabee said life issues aren’t just issues about abortion. He mentioned end-of-life issues, saying human life needs to be valued “until the moment a life is naturally ended.”
Huckabee drew comparisons to the Holocaust, saying that when Nazis began exterminating Jewish people, “educated scientists, sophisticated and cultured people looked the other way because they thought it didn’t touch them.
“This is why every person must get involved – you have to stand up and speak up or this is what can happen,” he said. “Once a culture begins to devalue human life, it begins to deteriorate.”
Huckabee spoke about all men being created equally and said without the right of life, there is no liberty. He said “as a country, we didn’t get it quite right for a while” when it came to civil rights, and that life issues have significance nowadays.
“That’s what we need to work for and pray for,” he said. “Until then, we are not a nation of life.”
Huckabee mentioned being asked during last year’s presidential debates what he thought the most significant issue was.
“I believe the most significant issue is how we treat each other as human beings,” he said. “It will define who we are as a nation.”
Connie Basham, secretary for Tippecanoe County Right to Life and chairwoman for the banquet, said about 700 people attended the event.
“This huge crowd shows there is support for the pro-life movement,” she said. “We’re delighted with the turnout and the overwhelming support.”
According to Basham, Huckabee speaking at the banquet helps the organization’s cause.
“He really does lend credibility for the organization,” she said.
She said a main goal of Tippecanoe County Right to Life is to educate the public and, in turn, influence elected officials on life issues.
“Hopefully we’ll have response from individuals and gain more volunteers,” she said. “A goal of Indiana Right to Life is to build an army to say ‘life is valuable.’”