For the first time in its history, the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List's Annual Gala on Monday night experienced protesters.
That was what several guests who have frequently attended several of the organization galas over the past 12 years told Newsmax.
"My body! My choice!" was just one of the angry chants uttered by a group of protestors outside the gala at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
Several veterans of previous events told Newsmax the protests were no doubt the result of recent pro-life legislation enacted in Georgia, Mississippi, and other states.
Inside the auditorium, a packed crowd heard powerful words against abortion and for life in speeches by Susan B. Anthony List's honorees of 2019: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and former United Nations Amb. Nikki Haley.
Other pro-life lawmakers in attendance included Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.
In receiving the Distinguished Leader Award, McConnell stressed the goal of the president and the Republican-held Senate was a "no vacancies left behind" policy regarding the filling of nominations to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
He added the confirmation of federal judges was one of the most powerful ways the Senate can have an impact on people.
Amb. Haley started her address to the crowd by stressing the pro-life movement was not only "a noble clause" but also "a thankless cause . . . because the people you are fighting for aren't in a position to thank you."
Referring to the feminist Susan B. Anthony, for whom the organization is named, Haley said women today are being divided on the issue of abortion and the debate on the issue is used to divide women and demand conformity.
"The idea that women must adhere to a particular set of values is one of the most anti-women ideas in today's culture," the former governor of South Carolina declared.
Haley added the current abortion debate is not about being for or against women but rather "about a baby's right to live."
On respect for life, she said "it is who we are as Americans" and how liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, are impossible without the right to life.
Haley brought the crowd to their feet by encouraging "a call to action" and stressing the power of one's voice, and the importance of continuing to fight for all Americans, including those unborn, "who are not yet able to fight for themselves."
(Clare Hillen is a sophomore at George Washington University and a summer intern at the Washington, D.C. bureau of Newsmax)
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