Rep. Chris Smith: ‘Pro-Abortion Culture of Denial’ Is a ‘Modern-Day Flat Earth Society’

At the first March for Life since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Congressional Pro-Life Caucus cochair Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade but warned that Americans still have much work to do to protect the unborn and their mothers.

Breitbart News obtained Smith’s Friday speech at the National Mall ahead of time, in which he called the “protection of the unborn child from the violence of abortion” the “most critical human rights issue of our day.”

“Regrettably, the pro-abortion culture of denial—a modern-day flat earth society— continues to deny, devalue and disrespect unborn baby girls and boys and trivialize the harm suffered by women,” Smith said.

“The United States—and the world—must recognize the breathtaking miracle of the newly created life of an unborn child and that women deserve better than abortion. We need to care and love them both,” he continued.

Smith further described the atrocities of abortions and wondered how future generations will view many Americans’ abortion-on-demand views.

“Future generations will someday look back on us and wonder how and why a society that bragged about its commitment to human rights could have legally sanctioned and aggressively promoted child beheadings, dismemberment, chemical poisoning, and forced expulsion from the womb,” he said.

Smith noted that he attended the first March for Life in 1974, the year after the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which created a supposed “right” to abortion. Then in 1981, he attended the March for the first time as a pro-life member of Congress.

“Countless times we chanted the slogan, “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go,” and today we celebrate—Roe is gone!” he said. “The infamous holdings in Roe v. Wade and Casey were reversed by the brilliant Dobbs decision written by Justice Alito—conveying to lawmakers at the federal, state and local levels the authority to regulate or prohibit abortion.”

 Smith optimistically pointed to on-the-ground and legislative efforts from the pro-life movement and pro-life lawmakers since the Supreme Court returned the issue of abortion to the states. 

“A new national debate on abortion has begun as lawmakers on the state level act quickly to protect children in the womb when a heartbeat can be detected at around 6 weeks or when the child suffers excruciating physical pain from the abortion procedure at 15 weeks,” he said. “Last week in the House, we passed a bill to protect children born alive during an abortion as well as a resolution to demand that terroristic acts against pregnancy care centers, churches and pro-life offices be investigated and the perpetrators of this violence be prosecuted.”

“And in the coming weeks, the House will vote on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act—the latest Knight-Marist poll shows that 60 percent of Americans oppose using tax dollars to fund abortion domestically. A number of local elected representatives are establishing pro-life sanctuary cities,” he continued. “The injustice of abortion need not be forever and with your continued work and prayers, it will not be.”

Tens of thousands of pro-lifers have convened at the National Mall and marched on Capitol Hill for the March for Life every year on the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in all 50 states. The March for Life describes itself as “the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world.”

“But this is not just a protest… TOGETHER, WE GATHER TO CELEBRATE LIFE. We celebrate each and every life, from the moment of conception. We envision a world where every life is celebrated, valued, and protected,” the March for Life website reads. “We envision a world where these moments are celebrated, valued, and protected by everybody—both in the private sector and in the public sphere.”

March for Life said even with Roe v. Wade being overturned, “the necessary work to build a culture of life in the United States of America is not finished.”

“Rather, it is focused differently. Sadly, the number of abortions annually is still well over 900,000 each year, and that number is expected to decrease only by roughly 200,000 each year in a post-Roe America,” the group states. “Many national legislative battles loom, including even keeping longstanding Hyde protections, which limit government funding for abortion on annual appropriation bills.”

March for Life continued:

The Hyde Amendment has saved over 2 million lives and is arguably the most impactful pro-life policy in our nation’s history, but now cannot be taken for granted. Last, our most important work is changing hearts and minds. The goal of the national March for Life is to not only change laws at the state and federal level, but to change the culture to ultimately make abortion unthinkable.

“With the role of the states being more important, we are also growing a strong state march for life initiative quickly, however, we will continue to march every January at the national level until a culture of life is restored in the United States of America,” the website reads.