Texas Alliance For Life Banquet

by Fernando Trevino on June 13, 2010 at 4:39 PM

My first ever political convention started by attending two great dinners in one night with many inspirational and powerful speakers. Could there be any better way to start off what looks to be an awesome weekend with thousands of passionate Texas conservatives?

The first dinner I attended was the Texas Eagle Forum’s Patriotic Banquet with Danielle Chavez. I can say that the food was good there! However, the banquet I attended was the Texas Alliance for Life’s Life & Liberty Banquet just down the hall for most of the evening.

The Texas Alliance for Life Banquet got started off with Governor Rick Perry who aside from being the longest serving governor in state history also has a record for being the most pro-life governor in Texas history! Governor Perry began by standing on his record of being “unabashedly committed to defending the unborn” as it is the “responsibility of every human being” to defend those who cannot speak for themselves. Of course the governor ended his speech by using his social media prowess to encourage those present to text “LIFE” to 95613 so that we may help him continue fighting for the unborn here in Texas.

The night continued with Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst who has helped Governor Perry usher much pro-life legislation through the Texas Senate. The Lieutenant Governor was equally proud of his accomplishments and was even more proud that he has continued to stand by his original campaign promise to make this the “most pro-life and most pro-family legislature in Texas history.” So far, both men have delivered on this promise and the Lieutenant Governor considered SB 319 especially important as it made it unlawful to harm a baby fetus. This was an unprecedented pro-life step that went above and beyond what many expected, especially after the highly praised Parental Notification Act. Together Governor Perry and Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst have made it a priority to uphold the sanctity of life and defend the “most vulnerable in society.”

The next speaker was Dr. Joe Pojman, Executive Director of the Texas Alliance for Life. Though there are many pro-life organizations in the state of Texas, Texas Alliance for Life stood out to me because they have been around for 22 years and have a mailing list that includes over 90,000 households. This is truly impressive, but what most impressed me were the facts and figures that Dr. Pojman presented regarding the legislation that has been enacted in Texas over the past decade. Since the Parental Notification Act was passed, teen pregnancies and abortions fell sharply by 32%, undoubtedly saving the lives of thousands of Texans. Dr. Pojman followed up by suggesting that we can do more to help the unborn by advancing legislation that would allow a woman to view a sonogram before deciding to have an abortion, make “Choose Life” license plates available, and defund Planned Parenthood. I was unaware that Planned Parenthood receives $20 million a year from taxpayers, so by defunding this organization we will not only save money but lives.

Finally our keynote speaker was Dr. Richard Land, the President of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Dr. Land began by recounting a debate in which a liberal asked him why we conservatives are so concerned over, what he called, “pelvic politics.” His response was that “sex has nothing to do with it . . . marriage is the building block of human society.” If marriage is not between a man and a woman, then of course the couple cannot reproduce—something that is obviously essential to life and the continuity of our society. Dr. Land then went into a short history lesson of various civilizations and analyzing their views on abortion and how it affected the success of various civilizations. Eventually his history lesson ended up at the founding of the Republican Party in 1854 when the Democrats and Whigs were both pro-choice on the issue of slavery. In 1860 the Republican Party won a Presidential election and a few short years later slavery was abolished in this nation. The lesson here was that strong leadership from our party effects real changes and differences that aid in defending those who cannot speak for themselves. Dr. Land ended by countering the pro-choice argument saying that it is “ghastly” for anyone to believe that the “ultimate right of a women is to deny her motherhood.”

While all of the speakers were very informative and impressive, I was unaware that I was lucky enough to sit next to the honored guests of the evening. Sitting next to me was Mr. and Mrs. Davis, a couple whose son, Joseph Davis Jr., was stricken with sickle cell anemia at a young age. Little Joseph’s sickle cell anemia was cured by adult stem cell research, an issue that his parents have passionately advocated for since the successes their son had. Nearly every speaker acknowledged the Davis family and many pictures were included in the program of their son. I was glad to hear that these concerned parents had been heard in Austin and was proud to know that Texas is leading the way in promoting the sanctity of all life.

Governor Rick Perry: