Former Texas Governor Rick Perry announced today he is seeking a second chance at capturing the Republican nomination for president. The pro-life advocate brings a long pro-life record to the table as the top elected official from the second largest state.
Perry will formally launch his presidential campaign as a Republican candidate on Thursday in Dallas and the 14-year Texas governor was an odds-on favorite to capture the nomination last time, but his campaign fizzled when back pain took his toll and he fumbled during a presidential debate.
Perry launched a new web site for his campaign and unveiled a new video promoting his candidacy.
“Under my leadership in Texas, we had 14 years of balanced budgets without ever skipping a debt payment, passed the largest tax cut in state history and created nearly one-third of all the new jobs in this country,” Perry says in the video. “And if I run, I’m going to put my record up against any competitor out there.”
When it comes to his record on pro-life issues, Perry was a consistent pro-life leader who went to bat numerous times for the cause of unborn children.
In 2013, Perry signed a ban on late-term abortions into law.
“Today’s signing builds on our continued commitment to protecting life for more than a decade. This is an important day for those who support life and the health of women in Texas,” Perry said. “Signing HB2 further solidifies the foundation on which the culture of in Texas is built.”
“HB2 brings improvements to the quality of care women receive,” Perry added. “HB2 protects unborn babies after the fifth month of pregnancy.”requires a doctor providing abortions to secure admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and lastly, requires a doctor to personally administer the abortion-inducing drugs to the patient.
After the Texas House voted, Perry issued a statement saying: “The tremendous outpouring of support for this legislation has demonstrated how Texas stands for life, and I commend everyone who wore blue, turned out and spoke up in support of life in our state. Now is not the time to waver, however, as the Senate continues its important work in support of women’s health and protecting the lives of our most vulnerable Texans.”
Perry issued a call for a special session of the Texas legislature to pass the bill that a pro-abortion mob and Wendy Davis’ filibuster prevented the legislature from passing.
“I am calling the Legislature back into session because too much important work remains undone for the people of Texas. Through their duly elected representatives, the citizens of our state have made crystal clear their priorities for our great state,” Perry said.
“Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn. Texans want a transportation system that keeps them moving. Texans want a court system that is fair and just. We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do.”
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Before that, Perry delighted pro-life advocates when he made a bill to allow women to see an ultrasound of their baby before an abortion one of his legislative priorities.
“It’s pretty hard to imagine people of good conscience sitting idly by through this, and in Texas we haven’t,” he said, saying the Supreme Court decision to allow virtually unlimited abortions, Roe v. Wade, is a “tragedy.”
That made it easier for the legislation to move through the legislative process after having been stalled for years, and Perry ultimately signed the pro-life bill into law. When used in pregnancy centers, ultrasounds convince more than 80 percent of women considering an abortion to keep their baby or consider adoption.
“Governor Perry was pleased to sign this important legislation, which bolsters our efforts to protect life by ensuring Texans are fully informed when considering such an important decision,” said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for the governor.
Days before signing the ultrasound legislation, Governor Perry signed into law the Choose Life license plate bill giving Texas motorists a life-affirming option on their vehicles. Under the legislation, motorists would be able to purchase Choose Life license plates to express their pro-life views and help support programs helping pregnant women.
Perry has not only signed legislation but he has frequently stepped up to the plate to raise funds for pro-life efforts — including supporting Heroic Media, a group that spread the pro-life message via television and radio advertising. During a fundraising event, Perry joined in on exposing Obama’s pro-abortion record and focused on him overturning the Mexico City Policy and forcing Americans to pay for funding groups that promote and perform abortions overseas.
“America is in the business of exporting abortion. I’m not happy about that,” Perry said and, saying of unborn children, “Too bad we can’t protect them from the federal government.”
Perry’s record has earned the support and praise from pro-life Texas leaders like Joe Pojman of Texas Alliance for Life, whose group endorsed him in his bid for re-election saying he “has passionately supported laws protecting unborn babies and their mothers.”
“Texas needs a leader who is unrelentingly pro-life,” Pojman said. “Unlike his opponent, Governor Perry has never given an inch to the life-threatening precepts of Roe v. Wade, whether verbally or by his actions as an elected official. He is a loyal advocate for the protection of unborn babies and their mothers, and TAL is eager for him to continue his dedicated and effective leadership of our state.”
Colleen Parro, the former head of the Republican National Coalition for Life, previously told LifeNews.com that Perry has always been on the side of pro-life advocates.
“Governor Perry has been a supporter of pro-life legislation and has signed into law whatever pro-life bills were passed by the Texas legislature,” Parro says.
Perry supported the Woman’s Right to Know Act (2003), the Prenatal Protection Act (2003), the parental consent law (2005), and funding for alternatives to abortions (2005, 2007, 2009). Perry also signed a bill that allows criminals to be prosecuted for killing or injuring unborn children during the course of an assault against a pregnant woman.
“Governor Perry’s signature on these pro-life bills marks history for Texas women, their health, and their unborn children,” Elizabeth Graham of Texas Right to Life told LifeNews.com at the time. Graham said Texas Right to Life worked closely with Perry on the legislation and the bills had his strong support throughout the legislative process. “Governor Perry recognized the deficiency in Texas that the unborn children of pregnant women were not protected under Texas law,” Graham explained.
In addition, Gov. Perry has also strongly endorsed public funding for adult stem cell research. He has opposed embryonic stem cell research, which has developed no treatments or cures and requires the destruction of human embryos.
