Speaker Paul Ryan Will Not Run for Re-Election, Pro-Life Congressmen Interested in Becoming Speaker

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 11, 2018   |   9:38AM   |   Washington, DC

Pro-life house Speaker Paul Ryan has indicated that he will not seek reelection to his congressional seat based in Wisconsin. That will set up a leadership battle within the Republican Party to replace him as Speaker.

The number two and number three Republicans in the house are both pro-life and both apparently considering running for the speakership position. Majority Leder Kevin McCarthy of California, Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, and North Carolina’s Mark Meadows, a leading voice of the conservative Freedom Caucus. All three are strongly pro-life on abrtion and have consistent pro-life voting records.

Ryan is stepping down because of the time demands associated with being Speaker, which took him away from his children too much.

Ryan announced he is retiring after this term, arguing his kids only know him as “a weekend dad,” and he is “setting new priorities in his life” as his children approach adulthood.

“The truth is, it’s easy for it to take over everything in your life,” Ryan said of the speaker’s job, adding that “there are other things in life that are feeling as well,” including his role as a father.

“This was really about two things,” Ryan added. “I accomplished much of what I came here to do, and my kids are not getting any younger.”

“And if I stay, my kids are only going to know me as a weekend dad and that is something I cannot do. That is really it right there.”

Ryan said he is not resigning and will remain through January.

During his tenure as Speaker of the House, Congressman Paul Ryan presided over the passage of numerous pieces of legislation and the passage of bills to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. Unfortunately the Senate fell a few vote short of defunding Planned Parenthood.

However, thanks to Speaker Paul Ryan’s help, key pro-life legislation made its way out of Congress and onto the desk of President Donald Trump.

Last year, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill to overturn a rule pro-abortion President Barack Obama put in place preventing states from defunding the Planned Parenthood abortion business.  The rule from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) prevented states from blocking Title X funding to abortion companies like Planned Parenthood.

After the House first passed the measure, the Senate voted 50-50 for the bill, with a couple of liberal pro-abortion Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the abortion giant and Republicans voting pro-life. The tie vote made it so pro-life Vice-President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to approve the measure.

Ryan has been consistently pro-life and praised those who attend the March for Life every year.

“This is truly a new dawn for the unborn and for those women and men who defend them.

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“Today, you march to defend the rights of those who cannot defend themselves. You march to give a voice to the silenced. Thank you for your passion and courage. Know that we march with you and that we will not stop fighting until every life is protected under the law.”

A leading pro-life group told LifeNews it is thankful for Ryan’s service and commitment to pro-life values.

“Wisconsin Right to Life thanks Speaker Paul Ryan for his service both to Wisconsin and our country,” stated Heather Weininger, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life. “Ryan has spent his entire career supporting the right to life cause, and we will truly miss his leadership in Congress. On a more personal note, I worked with Paul during my days on Capitol Hill and always admired his integrity, determination, and good nature. We wish him well as he embarks upon this new season.”

The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List today thanked Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) for his leadership as Ryan announced that he will not run for re-election.

“Speaker Ryan will leave behind a strong legacy of pro-life leadership,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “He has a been a champion for unborn children, for their mothers, and an articulate communicator who continually made the case for redirecting tax dollars away from America’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood, and championed conscience rights in health care. Under his leadership, the House achieved a major pro-life victory by passing legislation to stop late-term abortions after five months of pregnancy. We are saddened by his departure but look forward to continuing the fight with him no matter his next steps.”

He also strongly condemned abortions and said unborn babies feel pain as they are killed.

The science is in. The science is real. At 20 weeks old, ultrasound images reveal that unborn babies respond to unwanted stimuli—pain—the same exact way adults do: They recoil. They contract.

In cases of abortion, these unborn babies feel pain, they suffer.

That is hard to hear. It is very hard for me to say.

But now that we are seeing scientific proof that these unborn babies are in pain, what will we do? We cannot claim ignorance. Their pain is no longer invisible to us. And we cannot as a society—with good and upright conscience—ignore it.

It is easy to turn a blind eye to the pain of others. For a moment, it can feel like ignoring it means that it does not exist.

But our hearts and minds will always remind us: We cannot stop the pain of the world by turning away from it. And we must not turn away from the pain of the most vulnerable among us—the ones who have nowhere to run to.

Last year, Ryan talked about the problems associated with underpopulation.

Ryan took the speaker’s post in late 2015 after pro-life Republican John Boehner stepped aside and his heir apparent — Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — abruptly dropped out of the race to replace him. He was a a vice presidential candidate in 2012 along with Mitt Romney but the pair lost tt pro-abortion President Barack Obama.