WASHINGTON, D.C., January 30, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – During his first State of the Union address, President Trump praised a police officer and his wife who adopted a baby whose mother was addicted to heroin.
“Last year, [Officer] Ryan Holets was on duty when he saw a pregnant homeless woman preparing to inject heroin,” Trump recalled. “When Ryan told her she was going to harm her unborn child, she began to weep. She told him she didn't know where to turn, but badly wanted a safer home for her baby.”
“At that moment Ryan said he felt God speak to him: ‘you will do it because you can,’” said Trump. “He heard those words. He took out a picture of his wife and their four kids. Then he went home to tell his wife Rebecca. In an instant, she agreed to adopt.”
They named their new baby Hope.
“Ryan and Rebecca, you embody the goodness of our nation,” said Trump.
Although his speech was focused on issues like immigration, the economy, and national security, Trump mentioned his administration has “taken historic actions to protect religious liberty.”
“In America, we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, are the center of the American life,” he said. “Our motto is ‘in God we trust.’”
It appeared most Democrats didn’t stand and clap when he said that.
Trump said the terminally ill, who are “wonderful, incredible Americans,” should have the “right to try” new experimental treatments. The “right to die” is a favorite slogan of the euthanasia lobby.
Trump mentioned protecting “the nuclear family” in the context of “ending chain migration.”
He ended his speech with “God bless America.” Many attending members of Congress began chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
The Vice President of Government Affairs at the March for Life, Tom McClusky, said that although Trump’s speech wasn’t primarily focused on social issues, “Actions speak louder than words and personnel is policy.”
“In both, this administration has been utterly clear that it remains steadfast in its commitment to defending human life,” said McClusky, citing Trump’s reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy and judicial nominations.
President Trump has also “halted regulations that forced states to fund abortion providers and mostly overturned the ObamaCare forced abortion coverage mandate,” he said.
And he was the first president to address the March for Life via live satellite.
Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, brought as a guest to the speech Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo, a Catholic nurse who in 2009 was forced to assist in a late-term abortion at a Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.
A legal battle and Department of Health and Human Services investigation ensued; eventually the hospital changed its policy.
“No one should be forced to violate their religious beliefs—especially in the workplace,” said Speaker Ryan. “Not only did Cathy stick up for her faith, but she did so while fighting for the unborn. It’s wrong that Cathy and so many others have been intimidated into assisting with abortions, which is why the Trump administration’s expanded conscience protections are a welcomed change.”
“As a staunch defender of religious liberty, I was very moved by Cathy’s story,” he said, and was “delighted” she attended the State of the Union.
At least 14 Democratic members of Congress boycotted the State of the Union.
It appeared that Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-IL, walked out before the speech was over when at one point toward the end, the attendees chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!”