New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the Iowa Freedom Summit on Jan. 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
(CNSNews.com) - Speaking at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines on Saturday, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey argued that taking the pro-life position did not hurt political candidates anywhere in the United States, including in blue states.
“And despite what those conventional wisdom hawks may say to you, I can assure you that being pro-life is not a political liability anywhere in America,” said Christie
“Being honest with the people you hope to represent about the feelings you hold deeply is never, ever a political liability, whether it is politically popular at the moment or not,” Christie said. “And I will never change doing it exactly that way.
“Now, I ran in New Jersey as a pro-life candidate in 2009 and I won,” said Christie. “And I ran for reelection as a pro-life governor in 2013 and won by 22 points. The notion that our party must abandon our belief in the sanctity of life to be competitive in blue states is simply not true and I am living proof of that fact. You see, I do believe that every life is an individual gift from God, that no life is disposable.
“I want to suggest to all of you that truly being pro-life is not just being pro-life when that life is in the womb,” said Christie. “Truly being pro-life is being pro-life for the entire period that God gives of that life.
“So, that is why in New Jersey we have said that those who fall victim to the scourge of drug addiction that those lives are valuable, too,” said Christie. “And whether or not you are a teenager or young adult, drug-addicted, lying on the floor of a prison cell, your life is no less precious and you do not deserve any less a second chance in reclaiming your life. We need to make sure that every life is treated with the love that God created it with.
“We need as a pro-life movement to not just be talking about those first nine months, but about every month that that life exists on the Earth that God has given us,” said Christie. “And we will continue to fight that way."
The Iowa Freedom Summit at which Christie delivered his remarks was organized by Citizens United and Rep. Steve King.
Some of the other speakers at the summit included former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former U.N Amb. John Bolton, Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Dr. Ben Carson, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Sen. Rick Santorum, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, and Donald Trump.