These remarks were delivered by NRLC President Carol Tobias on March 24 at the National Right to Life Proudly Pro-Life Gala featuring Lara Trump.
Good evening. Thank you so much for joining us tonight in Chicago, one of America’s greatest cities. It is truly an honor to be with you.
I humbly stand before you tonight as the president of National Right to Life, the nation’s preeminent pro-life organization. And I say that with deep gratitude, because this organization represents something far bigger than any one person.
It represents a movement made up of ordinary people doing the extraordinary. People who have given their lives and have expected little in return– wonderful people, both past and present, who simply want what is right.
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Since 1968, even before the deadly Roe v. Wade decision, a group of Americans came together for a single purpose: to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
That gathering became the National Right to Life Committee, and that single purpose of Life still guides us today. Let’s hear more about that.
Tonight, I want to do three things with you. First, I want to look back at what our movement has accomplished.
Second, I want to talk honestly about where we find ourselves today. And third, I want to share where we are going, and the incredible opportunity in front of us– the opportunity to save lives if we meet the challenge before us.
Let’s begin by looking back.
National Right to Life was founded not just to change laws, but to change hearts and minds, because we have always understood something important.
Laws follow culture. And culture changes when people are willing to speak the truth with compassion.
Years ago, Richard John Neuhaus, a renowned faith leader, addressed the National Right to Life Conference and captured our mission so clearly.
He said, We shall not weary, we shall not rest, until every unborn child is protected in law and welcomed in life.
And tonight, I would add this. We will not rest until every mother is supported, respected, and given every opportunity to choose life.
That has always been our goal. Not just to protect life, but to care for life.
We work to save preborn babies, we help to provide resources for their mothers, and we work to protect the lives of the elderly and those with disabilities.
From the beginning, National Right to Life took a unique approach. In addition to the fervent prayers of our members, our strategy was and is built upon a three-legged stool: Education, Legislation, and Political Action.
Each one matters. Each one supports the other.
National Right to Life has long been the gold-standard source for verifiable pro-life facts, including legislative history, abortion statistics, court cases, fetal development, and public policy analysis.
We educate so people understand the truth. We work with lawmakers to pass legislation so that truth is reflected in law.
And we engage in the political process so that those laws can be passed and defended.
This approach has shaped one of the most effective human rights movements in our nation’s history. And the results are real.
In the 1970s, after Roe v. Wade, taxpayer dollars were being used to fund abortion on a massive scale. In 1976 alone, an estimated 300,000 unborn children lost their lives through federally funded abortions.
At that moment, a congressman from right here in Illinois, Henry Hyde, stood up and said something simple and courageous– the American people should not be forced to pay for abortion.
Curbing taxpayer-funded abortion was not easy. But with the support of National Right to Life, the Hyde Amendment achieved bipartisan support and was inserted into the federal budget. And for the last 50 years, keeping it has been a struggle, across Republican and Democrat administrations and congresses.
Yet this annual fight has been worth every effort, because the Hyde Amendment is the greatest abortion-reducing policy ever enacted by Congress. At least 2.6 million lives have been saved.
Think about that for a moment. 2.6 million. That is not just a number. That is Children, Families, and Futures. That is what happens when people of conviction take action.
Henry Hyde once called National Right to Life the ‘flagship of the pro-life movement.’ We carry that responsibility with humility and determination. And we keep on keeping on.
In the early 90s, National Right to Life anonymously received a shocking paper that was presented at a national conference of abortionists. The paper, written by the late-term abortionist, Martin Haskell, described in detail how to perform a partial-birth abortion.
Many Americans had never heard of partial-birth abortion. When the truth came to light, it shocked the conscience of the nation.
National Right to Life led the effort to pass the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. It took years. It faced opposition, including a veto by then-president Bill Clinton, but we succeeded.
And when the Supreme Court upheld that law, it marked a turning point. For the first time since Roe, the Court affirmed that limits could be placed on abortion.
That mattered. Not just legally, but culturally. Because when people saw the reality of what abortion involved, many began to reconsider their views. Public opinion shifted. Lives were saved.
We continued that work with the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, helping Americans understand that unborn children can feel pain.
State after state took action based on our model legislation. And ultimately, one of those laws became the foundation for the Dobbs decision– a decision that ended nearly fifty years of Roe v. Wade.
That did not happen overnight. It happened because of decades of steady, faithful work by people like you.
Now let’s talk about where we are today.
The 2022 Dobbs decision was a historic victory. It returned the question of abortion to the people and their elected representatives. But it did not end abortion. Instead, it changed the landscape.
And we are now facing one of the most serious challenges our movement has ever seen–the rapid expansion of chemical abortion.
Today, abortion pills account for more than half of all abortions in America. These drugs are being distributed in new ways– through telehealth, through the mail, across state lines– often with little medical oversight, little follow-up care, and very little accountability.
Women are being told that this is simple, that it is safe, that it is easy. But many are experiencing complications. Some are facing serious health risks. Others are left alone during a difficult and painful process. And too often, they are not given the full information they deserve.
At the same time, several states have moved aggressively to expand abortion. Here in Illinois, as in other states, we see policies that go far beyond what most Americans support– taxpayer funding. Few, or no, limits. Legal protections for abortion providers who operate across state lines.
We are also seeing efforts to target and restrict pregnancy help centers, the very places that offer women real support, real care, and real alternatives.
Yes, the battlefield has shifted. But the mission has not. Every life still matters.
Every mother still deserves care. And every one of us still has a role to play.
So where do we go from here? We do what this movement has always done. We move forward with clarity, courage, and compassion.
First, we address the challenge of abortion pills.
National Right to Life is advancing the Abortion Pill Provider Liability and Education Act, known as the APPLE Act. This effort focuses on two things: making sure women receive clear, honest information about the risks of the abortion pill, and making sure that when women are injured, abortion pill providers and manufacturers are held accountable–because women deserve better than being misled. And they deserve justice when they are hurt.
Second, we strengthen our nationwide network. Our affiliates in all fifty states are on the front lines. They are working in legislatures, in communities, and in neighborhoods. They are educating. They are advocating. They are building relationships. And we continue equipping them with the tools they need to succeed.
Even though NRLC is known for being the #1 Training and Development Hub for the Pro-Life Movement, there is much room for growth.
Part of that training and education comes by way of our Annual Conference, which is the longest running pro-life Conference in the country.
Hundreds attend from around the country, and it isn’t unusual for us to have a majority of the states represented there. We need to have all 50 states and thousands instead of hundreds in attendance. This year, in Arlington, VA, we will hold our 55th conference!
We also email our daily news report, NRL News Today, to more than 21,000 subscribers every day. While this is a good amount of subscribers, it needs to grow exponentially to keep the movement informed.
That’s in addition to providing fact sheets and reports, like our annual report about the Status of Abortion in the United States. The report covers abortion statistics and facts as well as an overview of state, federal, and international policies and actions.
Third, we invest in the next generation. Through the National Right to Life Academy, an internship program, and leadership development, we are preparing young people to carry this work forward. And let me tell you, they are ready. They are passionate. They are informed. And they are committed to building a culture that values every human life.
And fourth, we stay engaged in the political process.
Our long history of legislative success and the challenges we have faced all show that elections matter. When pro-life leaders are elected, lives can be protected. It is that simple.
Now I want to talk about something that should give all of us hope– the opportunity before us. For the first time in decades, we have the ability to shape policy in legislative bodies in ways that were not possible before.
We can pass laws that protect children. We can expand support for mothers and families. We can build systems that make choosing life not just possible, but supported. We can save more lives than ever before. But only if we act.
If we stay silent, others– with a very different viewpoint– will fill that silence. But if we stay engaged, if we stay united, if we stay focused, we can make a difference that will last for generations.
And here is something important to remember. This movement has never been about public policy alone. It has always been about people.
It is about the woman who feels like she has no options.
It is about the child whose life hangs in the balance.
It is about those who are encouraged by society to end their lives through assisted suicide and euthanasia.
It is about the families who step forward to help.
And it is about communities that choose to care.
Every life we save matters. It is the belief that what we do matters. That our efforts make a difference. That the future can be better than the present.
I believe that with all my heart.
More than fifty years ago, a small group of people came together with a simple conviction: that every human life has value. They did not know how the story would unfold. They did not know how long the journey would be.
Tonight, we gather as part of that same story, not merely as guests at an event, but as stewards of a cause that stretches across generations.
In the earliest days of this nation, our founders stood beneath uncertain skies and declared a revolutionary truth— that every human life carries dignity, value, and the unalienable right to exist.
That truth echoes still. It echoes in the halls of Congress… in the courts where great decisions are made… in the quiet courage of citizens who refuse to be silent when innocent life is at stake.
For more than half a century, National Right to Life has carried that truth forward— through seasons of challenge, moments of victory, and years when the work seemed impossibly difficult. Yet through perseverance and faith, lives were saved. Millions of them.
But history teaches us something important: great movements are never finished in a single generation. They are handed forward. Tonight, that responsibility rests with us. The future of this movement will not be written only in courtrooms or legislatures.
It will be written by men and women—people like you—who believe that the promise of America must extend to the most vulnerable among us. And so tonight, as we look toward the horizon of what comes next, we remember who we are.
We are guardians of a timeless truth: That every child is worth defending.
Every life is worth protecting. And every generation is called to rise… until the promise of life and liberty belongs to all.
