Ben Carson May be First Pro-Life Republican Candidate to Run for President in 2016

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 6, 2014   |   4:18PM   |   Washington, DC

Go to any conservative or Republican event and you’re bound to find conservative activists who have a petition, a table, or a book touting pro-life doctor Ben Carson as a potential GOP presidential candidate.

The calls for Carson to run have been resounding for years and now it appears the pro-life physician has heard them and may be seriously considering putting together a presidential campaign. ABC News reports today that Carson plans to air a 40-minute video this weekend introducing himself to Americans.

bencarsonThe documentary titled “A Breath of Fresh Air: A New Prescription for America” will air in 22 states and Washington, DC. The paid video will detail some of his biography and family life, including his rise from being born to a single mother with a poor childhood in Detroit to director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins for almost 40 years, known for his work separating conjoined twins, to potential 2016 presidential candidate.

Carson first became a conservative star when last year he created a buzz at the National Prayer Breakfast when in front of an audience that included President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden spoke out about political correctness, health care and taxes.

He also called for a private health care savings plan and a flat tax in a speech that went viral and led to an editorial in the Wall Street Journal titled Ben Carson for President. He is known as a fierce opponent of the president’s health care law known as Obamacare.

Carson has shied away from saying he is running for president but acknowledged the calls from conservatives to consider doing so.

“No, I don’t want to be president. Why would any sane person want to do that?” Carson said, acknowledging he has noticed the support. “I think I have to consider that, with so many clamoring for me to do it.”

On abortion, Carson has been a eloquent defender of the pro-life position.

Previously, Carson made it clear that there is indeed no War on Women, as abortion activists are fond of claiming. Instead, there is a War on Babies perpetuated through abortion.

“You know, there are those of us in this society who have told women that there’s a war on them because that cute little baby inside of them, they may want to get rid of it and there are people that are keeping you from doing that,” Carson continued. “And women say, ‘No, no, they’re not doing that to me! No!’ And they get all riled up.”

He added there was obviously not a “war on women” because men give up their seats to pregnant women.

“There is no war on them, the war is on their babies,” Carson insisted. “Babies that cannot defend themselves. Over the past few decades, we have destroyed 55 million of them. And we have the nerve to call other societies of the past heathen.”

“What we need to do is re-educate the women to understand that they are the defenders of these babies.”

Carson has a way of putting things in perspective that endears him to pro-life activists. In August, the neurosurgeon and the author of six best-selling books made another compelling point about the issue of abortion that is sure to have everyone who opposes abortion concurring.

He pointed out how ancient civilizations have been criticized for the brutal practices of human sacrifice and child sacrifice — but he wonders if modern society isn’t “guilty of the same thing” because we have legalized abortion.

Click here to sign up for daily pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com

“Well, it’s interesting that we sit around and call other ancient civilizations heathen because of human sacrifice but aren’t we actually guilty of the same thing?” said Dr. Carson in reference to a question about abortion. “The good thing is the American populace is moving closer and closer to understanding that abortion is murder. Every year we’re getting better on that regard.”

As CNS News notes:

Dr. Carson, the former director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, made his remarks on the Focus Today television show (online), hosted by Perry Atkinson.

He continued, “So, I think it can be done but we have to be, you know, smart enough not to allow ourselves to believe as the dividers would: ‘Hey, you got to stick to this and if you relent in any way you know you are abandoning your principles and your values.’ They’re playing us. We have to take the Esther approach: Get ourselves into positions where we can actually change it. Then we can save all the babies.”