Outgoing March for Life President Jeanne Mancini lauded the confirmation of former Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as Secretary of State, calling it a "massive gain" for the pro-life movement globally.
Mancini, who's stepping down at the end of this month after leading March for Life since 2012, made the comments in an interview with the Washington Examiner on Friday.
"I was overjoyed when Secretary Rubio was announced as the SecState, and I think that it's a massive gain that he's in that role," Mancini said. "It's a position of tremendous power. I mean, probably the most powerful position after the president in the administration because the vice president isn't — they get involved in some policy but not as much as like the secretary of state will.
"I think he'll have greater influence as secretary of state than a senator. I'm sad that the Senate lost him but I think it's just incredible that he'll be serving in that capacity. I can't wait to see what he does."
One measure that Mancini hopes will be resurrected under Rubio and the Trump administration is the "Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance" (PLGHA) policy, also known as the "Mexico City Policy," that former President Joe Biden revoked in January 2021.
"If [PLGHA] is reinstated, the cabinet level and the department that basically gives teeth to that, make sure it's actually happening — which is really hard; it's not easy to do — will be the secretary of state. And so making sure that that's being put into practice is a massive job," Mancini told the Examiner.
"We just heard a week ago that the president's emergency plan for AIDS relief, which absolutely prohibits any kind of abortion funding, under the Biden administration has allowed abortion funding overseas and they're admitting this. And so under Sen. Rubio, those kinds of things won't be happening."
Jennie Bradley Lichter, a pro-life legal advocate and scholar, will succeed Mancini next month.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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