kpherb lies them. that we can achieve both objectives, protect give life to this new technology and bring jobs and economic growth to the are neither inherently good nor inherently bad. it is up to us to animate them with the long-standing values of america that we have built. flying and potentially spying robots sounds like science fiction, but they have a reality right now. that technology is getting cheaper and it is getting more accessible. this drone here has two independent cameras. online for purchased under $100. with an iphone app, you can fly this over the capital right now. or over anyone's backyard.

filming your family, filming anything you want. house, ihy in the introduced a bill and i have introduced the same bill in the senate, the drone aircraft privacy and transparency act. my bill requires one, commercial drone operators to disclose what data is collected, how that data is used, whether the data will be sold and when the data is going to be deleted. number two, law enforcement, to obtain a warrant before using drones except in emergency circumstances. to create aaa publicly available website that lists when and where drones fly so that we fill this gap that the faa says it has. jurisdiction and we can just pass this legislation and give them the authority and the mandate to do the job they should do.

faa doesrese, if the not incorporate any privacy protections into the final drone licensing process which they do not plan to do, and a company decides to fly a drone over my backyard and video me, would there be any way for me to know it? >> if you see the drone -- >> other than me seeing it. >> it is going to be tough. >> the answer is no. if i look up and see a drone flying over my house, under the current plan is there anyway i can find out what information that drone is collecting? down the you track privacy policy that was described -- >> and he has the information. no. if that drone happened to take images of me in my backyard, are there any federal laws requiring them to delete those pictures? >> or are no federal laws. >> would i be able to find out

how the company uses those pictures or any data that they collected of my family or anyone else's family? if they sell that private information dollars? that information to others? >> you have to be kind of an expert in order to get to that level of knowledge. you will have no way to access the specific information. >> the answer is no. what i be able to find out who owns or operates that drone? >> not unless they put it on the side. >> the answer is no. you are saying that without putting in place federal drone privacy protections such as the provisions in my bill, a company could fly something like this right over our backyards and it doesn't have to be this long -- it sounds small -- this can be one third the size of this flying over people's homes. that is how small it can be or even smaller. collect whatever

information they want, sell it to whoever they want and i would never know. is that correct? just to be very fair, there are state laws on this. >> i am talking about federal. how about a federal standard? >> i agree. i think there is a long way that we could go. >one example, google street view already has the capacity. if you go on there and see a person, their face is blurred. layson's plates are blurred. there is technology that exists to protect people's privacy. >> should we settle these issues before or after mr. worked out gives authority for these to fly run the country? should we lie on a law that doesn't exist or pass a law that is very clear? we should act, thank you. i appreciate that. that is why we stand outside of supermarkets and shake hands

with strangers. so we can have the job to protect the public. what i woulduerta say to you is this, would you welcome the kind of authority which i am talking about inside my legislation? would you act upon it to ensure that the privacy of americans is protected? >> the faa's primary mission is safety. >> if we give you the authority hhs's principal authority is help but they have to change it. they also have to protect privacy. you -- you protect safety. if we give you this privacy authority, would you implement it? >> we would welcome the opportunity to work with our federal partners on a way forward. >> the good news is that the federal trade commission also has jurisdiction over privacy

and it is also within this committee. we could give the authority to the federal trade commission in order to make sure that we fill this gap to empower americans to protect themselves even as this industry creates billionaires all across our country. i thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, your time was ample. [laughter] encouragedsomewhat the fact that i see no way in which the faa should be given responsibility for privacy. >> i have waited two years to hear those words. >> it doesn't mean i am for your bill. that is just my view. >> i appreciate that. it is a good start. [laughter] >> it is a good start, yeah. all right, people, and people go. cantwell -- booker and then senator cantwell.

>> thank you so much. that one of them is in new jersey. >> that is correct. rutgers university partnered with the virginia tech university and presented a proposal on behalf of both states. >> fantastic. i don't want to counter my colleague to say that nevada was the first place for unmanned flight. new jersey was the first state in flight, not north carolina because it was a balloon flight. [laughter] just want to emphasize that point of pride. >> also the first air-traffic control tower. >> we can go on. [laughter] mek, this is exciting to because it is a whole new frontier. as a sci-fi fan, this is somewhere caught between my star trek aspirations and my terminator fears. do, at leasts -- i one nerd in the house will laugh at my joke.

there is obviously a lot of concern. for the sake of having balance here, focus real quick -- you were right about the tensions of the first and fourth amendments. knowing how we have operated a long long time ago, i was mayor of a city. i think it was october. when we with the aclu were introducing new technologies into our police department. the technology now is incredible. we have license plate scanners that can scan thousands of license plates and pulled him out of different data. we have cameras with incredible sophistication from facial vision,ion, night incredible for public safety. we have sound detectors that can isolate gunshots. it is incredible. we reached out to you because obviously with that technology comes tremendous governmental power.

there has to be some checks and balances and we asked the aclu to write standard operating procedures. i want to ask you the flipside in some sense to show that balance. why does the aclu advocate for dash cams on police cars? >> accountability can come with this. we think it is appropriate to monitor the government doing its job. it is more appropriate for us to be monitoring the government than the government to be monitoring us. -- proliferation smartphones -- i just lost my geek status by showing a blackberry. the fact that kids in high school now all have these cameras and when there are police arrest happening, what do we see now more and more? >> we see the footage of that and that is a wonderful development. the fact that private

citizens might have access to some of this technology as well, do you see that as a potential good thing? >> i do. the first amendment protects your ability to photograph things, including police and corrections. we think that is a crucial first amendment concern. given that, we need to be very careful that anything we do using drone technology it doesn't trample on those rights. any restriction has got to be narrowly tailored when it comes people's ability to photograph things and it has got to deal with compelling interest. >> is ancient latin written on willoliseum that says who watch the watchers? you are saying the fact that private citizens can observe, can sell him government -- can film government actions can balance. his offers potential to expand that. there were lots of people in urban neighborhoods who if they had the ability would help to

curb a lot of overreach from police. >> that is 100% correct. quickly, this to me is an economic opportunity. flex ouropportunity to freedoms. it is an opportunity to advance, create lots of jobs. the one quick question i have, you talked about consulting in your report. seven, you state that you are working in consultation with other agencies on these issues. for the remaining 30 seconds that i have, could you talk to me about the extent of that and what you think the ramifications could be with interagency cooperation when it comes to privacy, civil rights, security and safety? >> i think there is broad agreement that it is an extremely important issue. we have consulted with the department of homeland security, department of commerce and others as well as colleagues

across the whole administration to understand what the issues are that we need to address and what are the appropriate mechanisms that we might take to enable that we have insured these rights to privacy are protected. >> thank you very much. senator coats and i will now have a dialogue and i will call upon his endless reserves of goodwill to get me past a very tricky situation. of peopleis new form coming, people go out. i understand how complicated that is. very competent it if you have a third-grade education. senator cantwell has been sitting through the entire thing and three times i have passed over because of other people. >> that should be rewarded. someone who has sat through this entire thing.

i think she should be rewarded for sitting here and i would be glad to go out. >> thank you for eating up time. [laughter] >> thank you, mr. chairman. i thank my colleagues for his consideration as well. this whole discussion -- i wanted to make this point and see if i could get your input, mr. calabrese. the technology in and of itself is not the villain. >> never. >> not necessarily the application is the villain either. the issue is this larger issue , it resonatesving in the same way. collection,ized storage and sharing of private data and information without someone's knowledge. was puttings mr. -- out earlier, when it comes to

surveillance, the supreme court has ruled that if you no one is surveilling you, chasing you by suspecter because they you or the coast guard is hovering over your boat, you don't have to prove any kind of intent because you know that they are there. at least that is what most court cases have determined. in all ofssue is like these issues of government overreach, what are we going to do to establish protection against that data collection, the sharing of that data civiltion, or as a lot of libertarians will point out, even the fact that that information was collected and the fact that somebody could go get a warrant to get that information and you didn't even your participation in that activity might be a cause for your data and information to be accessed. is that right? >> that is right. we really worry about super sizing of surveillance by the

government using private sector infrastructure. if you build a surveillance model using drones that for all kinds of other purposes, the government may piggyback on it the same way they piggyback on internet surveillance -- >> am i not correct that you can go in a court case and say, where were they using the gps of the driver? technology in a car currently being accessed for all sorts of legal purposes. >> and pursuant to legal protections in a legal regime. that is what we would like to see here. for example, a warrant used before -- whether the fbi is surveilling you were using private footage to mentor should be a warrant for that. in public, there should be reasonable suspicion backed up by a judge's approval. >> i definitely believe in three legs of a stool.

a judicial process has to take place. i am definitely in agreement with you. debate toelevate this the focus of this data and data collection? was mentioning to me, this is the fourth and 14th amendment issues. personally would make it like the miranda rights. everybody would know what they are. you have rights to your personal information and if it is violated, you would obviously wish -- i think this is not the last application. making sure that u.s. citizens are protected needs to be a basic right. >> you are preaching to the choir. i completely agree with you. in terms of how we elevate this debate, the protections we need -- i was glad to see the faa talk about doing a privacy policy, beginning to consider

how we are using this technology and figuring out how to control personal information. there are first amendment concerns. day job?t his >> i am not saying he doesn't deal with other people but the locus of activity on drones is with the faa. other agencies have figured this out. i think they may have to as well. >> i had a chance to both support and question the new head of the border patrol this morning. in light of the washington post article, they are using this a lot. i think there are very good applications for the border patrol to use this. i also think people need to know that there are privacy protections within that framework and that it won't be abused. it can't just be dropped in by another agency and accessed at will. that is the broadening of the policy you are talking about. >> if you build a surveillance

infrastructure, it will be accessed by lots of people. the cbp example is a perfect one. they have drones and now suddenly everyone else wants to use them. those are spying on -- not just at the border, it is up to 100 miles away from the border. this kind of surveillance is already happening on american citizens. -- tank you for having the hearing. i think it is a very important issue for our committee. we have passed lots of privacy legislation in the past. i think the committee should continue to focus on it again. i think the application and the technology are great things for the u.s. i think making sure that as we u.s.it has its privileges, citizenship has its privileges and the right to privacy. >> you, senator cantwell. >> mr. chairman, thank you.

chairman and i both served on the intelligence committee and we spent quite a bit of time and will spend more not only in this committee but in intelligence as well as other committees homeland security and so forth. erta, i hur ty want to ask you what responsibilities you may have and how you will look at cyber security issues and protections from hacking. we already know this has taken place. it is both a privacy issue and a safety issue because hacking had a nowystem -- we publicly released hack into a -- can result in

disclosure of the collection of information that will be collected even though it was protected by privacy laws from release. information is going to be collected. it is going to be in the system just as a result of the way the system works. also know that there is a safety issue here. a very significant safety issue. if you can get into the system the unmannednd use vehicle for other purposes than intended -- i wonder if you could just give me a little bit of what you are thinking about this and how we need to go forward on this issue from a federal level. obviously there will have to be a number of agencies involved. >> i am very concerned about the cyber issue for the reason you talk about.

rely on the information technology infrastructure for the control of these aircraft. that is different and that is new. the faa is actively engaged with the community and we are working tosely with our tca -- rtca establish an appropriate technological standard to ensure that we have cyber protections in place of we can ensure the safe operation of these aircraft. i think it is a big issue and it is something that the research we will be conducting in the years ahead needs to be focused on. we have to ensure that these are operating safely. >> do you have the resources now or what resources might you need , analysis resources to really put together a strong cyber security protection system? >> we don't necessarily have a specific ask right now. the budget agreement that is

being considered by the congress now does significantly increase the research in the area of unmanned aircraft within the purview of the faa. thinks something that i is a very good thing. likewise, each of the test site operators have developed a research program which they are funding. many states are putting money into this effort. it is a burgeoning area and we have to give it the support that it needs so that we can fully flesh out all of these questions. that youlad to hear are well aware of the potential problems here. i think we would be open, mr. chairman, to address the question of resources that you might need in this regard. with that, i will yield back my time. >> thank you, senator coats. senator fisher.

>> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate your holding this hearing today. i would like to thank all the panelists for being here. mr. huerta, and your testimony you identified several steps that the faa has already taken to help bring this new technology into our nation's aviation system. your testimony also discusses the challenges to broader and faster uaf integration into our national airspace system including such things as pilot training privacy concerns, many things that have already been discussed. what do you believe is the federal government's biggest challenge for safe and efficient uaf commercial integration into our national airspace? significant thing we have to address is that right now, today, this technology operates by exception in the national airspace system. congress has directed us and the

faa is very focused on, how do we integrate this technology into the airspace system? visit -- there is a wide scope of things to consider. what we need to get to is a regime where unmanned aircraft can operate in the same way that manned aircraft operate within the national airspace system. were are considerations that have with respect to the safety of the aircraft themselves, the certification of the operator and how they interact with other aircraft. that is the full scope of research activities we need to look at. you heard me say earlier that i believe it is going to be staged. we are going to learn a lot as this technology continues to grow at the exponential rate that it has been. as we learn more, we have to be willing to evolve and recognize that there will be differing regulatory questions that we are going to have and we have to address them as they come forward.

it is, how do we get to this integration from accommodation? >> what do you think you need from congress if you are to facilitate this? provided anhas important milestone for us and has really challenged us to figure out how we do this safely. what we all need to recognize is that this is a very complex issue. to it.many dimensions we spent a lot of time today talking about one, the issue of privacy. other issues have been raised with respect to certification and training and a whole host of other issues out there. i think what i would really ask for is a recognition that this is new. in terms of how we deal with it in our regulatory context. aviation has always been about

how we can be flexible and thatmodating and recognize we may not be able to provide definitive answers today. what we really need to have is the flexibility that will enable us to figure this out as we go along just as we have accommodated all technological innovations and aviation. >> i am happy to hear you use the terms "flexible" and accommodating. issue.aska, we have an you know where this is going. senator joe hansen i have sent a letter to you and it deals with some of the rule changes that we believe are potentially leading to some pilot shortages in rural parts of nebraska. we are looking at flights being cut back, canceled in many cases. especially in those sparsely populated areas of our state and other states as well.

what do you anticipate happening there? are we going to see some changes in that 1500 hour rule? are you going to be flexible and accommodating with us? >> we are certainly working with carriers to figure out how we can accommodate the requirements we have. a couple of things that i think are important, that provide a framework around that. rule of all, the 1500 hour was established in statute i congress in 2010. the rule that the faa enacted last year actually is relieving of that. what that provides is an opportunity within the framework of the authorization for military and educational credit to be applied toward the satisfaction of that 1500 hour rule. we believe that has struck the appropriate balance of ensuring that we can be flexible there.

on the flight duty and rest, we announced those rules in 2011 giving the airlines two years to prepare for the implementation of important roles that were put in place to ensure that we don't have pilot fatigue. carriersrking with the in the implementation of these. my understanding that the carrier in question that has been seeing these impacts in nebraska, great lakes airlines, is considering whether they should reclassify from department 21, large scheduled service, into department 35 which would bring them under a different regulatory regime. we are interested in working with the airline to understand what their plan is. we will continue that discussion to work very closely with them to figure this out. >> i look forward to working with you on that. i understand the importance of

safety for pilots, passengers, but communities are also affected by this. sometimes distressed areas of our country. that toe can work on protect those rural communities. thank you. >> thank you, senator fischer. senator nelson. , let meuerta -- huerta ask you an unrelated question. i have to run to catch the bus with fellow senators. i'm going to ask our staff director of the science and space subcommittee to visit with you after the meeting since i can't stay. advice on what we need to do to get the air force to ease up on the cape canaveral air force station so we can launch commercial rockets from

that location. question and we want to follow this up in detail with you at a future time. offcalabrese, before i race let me just get some clarification. i along with the chairman and senator coats, i have had the privilege of serving with them on the intelligence committee in the past and we have been very mindful of protections of privacy with what we have been going through. trying to protect the nation's national security interest. a divorceyou are lawyer and you are representing a client and you want to follow .he spouse you can hire a private

detective. that doesn't take any kind of court order. difference of the the privacy invasions of employing the services of a drone to follow the suspect spouse? >> that is a great question, senator. i think that goes to the fundamental nature of drones which is that they are cheaper and smaller and easier to use. where the private investigator must cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars, the drone would be able to do it for tens or hundreds of dollars. talking about much greater privacy invasions especially if for example you have a drone that surveillance a whole city and you just need one drone to do that type of tracking. you can see a very different type of invasion. i think it merits scrutiny from congress to figure out the best first amendment rights and also protect people

from this kind of invasive ongoing tracking. well, i will continue this with you. it does raise some interesting questions such as, is the drone technology more invasive than a private detective would be? because it has got penetrating , thoser infrared sensors kind of things. ultimately it is going to be a question of the courts but it does raise some interesting questions. i do, mr. chairman. -- thank you, mr. chairman. >> let me ask the administrator, one statement you made actually struck me which is that with this technology, with the drone technology that in a you hope the faa gets

position where unmanned aircraft are operating under the same rules as manned aircraft. is thatuck me with that the unmanned aircraft, the capacity of it as just described seems to have many different capacities that would interfere with different areas of our lives than manned aircraft. can you help me understand that? i want tof all, clarify that i would never suggest they would be operated exactly the same in the national airspace system. the distinction i was drawing was that right now unmanned aircraft operate in the national airspace system by exception. the direction we have received from congress is to integrate them so that they are a regular part of the operation of the national airspace system. so it is not by exception. it may be under a different framework under which they theate but above all else,

thing that the faa is most concerned about is that these are to operate on a regular integrated basis within the national airspace system. that they operate as safely if not more safely than other aircraft. >> in my prior life i was an attorney general. as i look at this, all of you testifying today, perhaps the aclu could give us the most perspective on this. as we look at this question of what the rules should be, it really has to be in a cross government look. we don't have an official here from doj. we don't have from dhs. there are a lot of aspects to this as senator nelson mentioned. when i think about using a drone for surveillance in a divorce case, years ago i had a few divorce cases in private practice. there is no question in my mind that it is way more intrusive.

the nature of what you can see with a drone versus a private effective and the access a drone told have is so much greater the private on goings of someone's life of what they could see versus what a private attacked it would have to be on private land -- would have to be on authorized public land. i think the challenges we face on this are immense. it is not just the players that are at this table but it has to be a much broader consideration about people's constitutional rights and what type of society we want in terms of what people are going to be able to see within ourselves in terms of privacy. think here, mr. chairman, this is something that has to cross committees too to make sure we get this right in terms of how we come up with what the rules would be as to how this

technology can be used. this is obviously just a commentary on all of this. i would also say, wanted to get your opinion on this, many states are acting now. state legislators are very concerned about this issue of what can drones do or not do in their states. it strikes me that you could have a situation where the patchwork is that you have much more protection in new hampshire than you do for example in massachusetts which isn't uncommon in terms of privacy issues that are important to my constituents. , thinking about when we have issues that may infringe on our constitution -- what are your views in terms of a national versus a patchwork of where we are now? do you think that we should come up with standards that really govern the operation of the unmanned vehicles.

obviously on the safety end it is going to be wanting for the faa. all these other issues where you see state legislators trying to get in. i wanted to get your opinion on that. certainly mr. calabrese, i would like to hear what you have to say about that. >> i think it clearly demonstrates enormous interest in this issue. you go from zero states considering it to 43 with 13 state laws happening. that is incredibly quick. the aclu is relatively agnostic in terms of state versus federal on privacy issues. obviously they need to protect the first and fourth amendment. we are concerned about some of the rights of photography in the first amendment context. at the same time we are chairing the requirements and restrictions on law enforcement use. there is good and there is bad. i think congress has a role. >> thank you. if i may, to paraphrase a

comment earlier, i don't think all unmanned aircraft should the one-size-fits-all. i think you need to look at the application and safety of how it is going to be used. congress with the faa modernization reform act clearly provided a path forward to move this industry forward. what i think the intention was was to move forward approval of unmanned systems that can provide a useful service to society that is safe, operates in the line of sight. i think rules can be made such that unmanned systems can be introduced into the airspace and ensure both safety and privacy and that can be done on a national basis. echo senatorke to cantwell even though she is not in the room. i think everybody is getting a little too overfocused on the drone technology. i think that this room will

driverless car technologies for example. unmanned cars will have cameras inside the car, outside the car, and all of this will potentially be hackedable. we need to be clear that it is not just unmanned aerial vehicles. ground technologies as well. a lot of those same issues are going to apply to both domains. >> i appreciate. i know my time is up. this is an area we need to weigh in on and make sure that we have some clear rules here. because of all of the issues that are at stake both within the constitution and safety issues, etc. it is challenging. if we are looking at a crop sprayer, we might have environmental issues. if we are looking at an issue of surveillance technology, then we have other issues.

i think that is -- this is where it is going to have to be -- if we work on this committee, it is going to have to have a broader view and make sure we look across government at what the possibilities are. i appreciate all of you being here. >> thank you, senator. after cummings, it was good that you spoke up. i thought this was a very good hearing but for the single fact that you didn't get asked enough questions. i have two for you. all, you brought enormous enthusiasm and you raised a question in my own mind as to whether or not -- because other countries are ahead of us, that that is necessarily a bad thing. people get ahead in some things, behind in others. drones really came out of the two wars we have been engaged in for a very long time.

japan is a very different society. it is a society where people intrusion more easily, i guess, then in most western societies. that would probably be true of a lot of asian countries. in any event, can you hack into a drone easily? >> there are two different layers you should be thinking. in terms of internal control , that would be much more difficult to do as opposed to hacking into its navigational control system. that is for example, gps. this is one of the biggest technological hurdles that the drone industry but also the commercial aviation industry is going to have to get over. it is very easy. my students could hack into any vehicle guided by gps.

the martial airliners, driverless cars, this is going to be a big issue in the future. being able to make technology gps-proof is a major hurdle that we need to get over. this country is looking at it. there are lots of academic labs. most notably, jpl and california is trying to develop terrain relative navigation. all of these -- i hate to beat that horse -- all of these budgets just took a recent big hit. unless this country puts more emphasis on terrain relative navigation were gps-pre- technology we are not going to be able to get over that hurdle. it is not just an unmanned vehicle hurdle. this is also commercial aircraft. point raise an important which i won't comment on just now. we are constraining what we can do in the future by our decision-making.

you said that you weren't much of an expert on privacy. i want you to make yourself one for the moment and reflect on what you have heard here today. >> i didn't say i wasn't an expert on privacy. i just knew there would be so much discussion about it today that i didn't want to jump on that bandwagon too soon. i do think all these privacy issues are important but again i think we lose sight of the that iss a technology causing the privacy concerns as opposed to the technology itself . i have seen little bug robots being developed in robots -- in labs that could be slipped under the store and you wouldn't even know that we are being watched because of the small scale of these technologies. again, it is not just a drone issue. the driverless car issue, robots in your home, your skype camera on your computer that could be turned on remotely, this again speaks to a technological illiteracy problem that we have in our nation.

particularly in the government levels. i don't mean to be mean towards government employees but our top people in the universities are not graduating and going into the government. they are not even going into the defense industry. our top technology brains who are developing these cutting- edge technologies are going to apple, across, the ocean. they are not staying inside the government and helping the government be able to identify and manage these issues. i think this is going to be a very serious rub them in the future that our government does not have enough qualified people to address- on staff these issues. >> i accept that. i think there is a counter movement which is taking place. a lot of young people are not at all happy the way government is being done or run. i think there is in many ways a very broad interest from people who are not yet ready to go into a political career or government career about the possibility of

so doing. i would be disappointed if i am wrong. i hope i am not. >> i don't mean to be contrary but it is one thing to be interested in going into government service. it is another thing to have the intense technological background you're going to need. people in the future are going to need a hard-core background in statistics, control theory and even human psychology to understand a lot of these technologies. it basically speaks to the lack of this country to motivate good stem foundation in terms of the number of students we have. i know that you must hear this all the time, that we need more stem funding, but i think it is a problem that will become acute as we move into these automated and autonomous technologies. >> we have done a stem in this committee. we authorized it and we have to do so again. we are just up against this spendings, you know,

-- can't spend money, regardless philosophy. it is just my opinion. ranging,s been a wide- not totally focused but necessarily therefore better, hearing bringing in a whole variety of issues relating to different agencies' roles and the aclu role and your role at duke, and i right? stimulativeas been in that respect. this is the first hearing we have really had on drones. i think it ought to be that kind of an opening up of a variety of questions and then we will be able to focus in more closely on special aspects of it. cummings, willr. be, do we do it fast enough?

having said that, the hearing is adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> coming up next, the annual march for life rally. lawlenging a massachusetts on abortion clinics. they'd are president obama announces an initiative to prevent sexual assault on college campuses. >> thursday, the u.s. conference of mayors bears from housing and urban development secretary shaun donovan about community development. that is live at 11:15 a.m. here on c-span. later, a look at some of the rising young leaders of the republican party. we are live on the rnc winter meeting at 2:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span.

unfortunately, many americans [indiscernible] some because of their poverty and some because of their color. all too many because of both. help replaceo their despair with opportunity and this administration today here and now declares unconditional war on poverty in america. [applause] >> looking back at five decades of notable state of the union addresses from lbj to george w. easternday at 3:00 p.m. , part of american history tv this weekend on c-span three. that is all leading up to president barack obama's money 14 state of the union address live tuesday on c-span, c-span

radio and c-span.org. wednesday marked the 41st anniversary of the supreme court's row versus wade decision legalizing abortion in the united states. at the annual march for life rally on the national mall, house majority leader eric cantor announced plans to vote on legislation and in federal funding of all abortions actually. this event is just over an hour. >> ladies and gentlemen -- >[applause] we are going to kick off this rally with matt marr. [applause] if you know it, sing it with

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shelter to weather the storm ♪ it is waiting for you, knocking at your door ♪ of truth when your heart hits the floor ♪ ♪ love will hold us together ♪ make us a shelter to weather the storm ♪ i will be my brothers keeper so the whole world will know that

we are not alone ♪ ♪ this is the first day of the rest of your life ♪ ♪ this is the first day of the rest of your life ♪ ♪ cause even in the dark, you can still see the light ♪ it's gonna be all right ♪ oh, gonna be all right ♪ ♪ this is the first day of the rest of your life ♪ ♪ this is the first day of the rest of your life ♪ dark, you can still see the light ♪ right ♪onna be all ♪ love will hold us together ♪ take us to shelter to weather the storm ♪ ♪

oh, and i will be my brother keeper so the whole world will know that we are not alone ♪ [applause] how are we doing, d.c.? we are all really cold and my guitar is really out of tune. i love that we can sing the songs. if you don't know the chorus, i will teach it to you. i think the song is witness we can get to this country in the world and people who believed in the dignity of human life. we can demonstrate to a world how much we need god. give witness to them. this march is about realizing we are all poor and in our poverty,

we all need jesus, his mercy and love. sing this with me -- ♪ oh, lord i need you, every hour i need you ♪ ♪ my one defense, my righteousness ♪ ♪ oh, god, i need you ♪ lord, i come, i confess, bowing here i found my rest ♪ ♪ without you, i fall apart ♪ you're the one that guides my

heart ♪ ♪ lord i need you, oh, i need you ♪ ♪ every hour i need you ♪ my one defense, my righteousness, oh, i need you ♪ god bless you guys. have a good march. >> hello. good afternoon out there. [applause] i want to thank you for your fantastic performance. my name is patrick kelly, and i

am proud to serve as the chairman of the board on the march for life. on behalf of the whole march for life team, i would like to welcome you to the largest and most important civil rights demonstration in the world. [applause] this year's theme is a noble decision. adoption. it reflects the importance of the lfie affirming options. we at march for life that adoption is ultimately an act of love. the bond of love for the very same child. before we begin, let's join together for the pledge of berkeynce, led by david from the university of maryland.

>> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god with liberty and justice for all. [applause] >> thank you. in thanksgiving for the great collaborative witness or the orthodox and catholic bishop offering our prayer each year, i would like to welcome to the podium, his grace, the bishop demetrius, chancellor of the holy metropolis of chicago orthodox church who will lead the opening prayer.

he is joined onstage by clergy, bishops and metropolitans representing the syriac, the orthodox church of america and the archdiocese in america. the armenian church of america and the roman catholic bishop of the united states. >> thank you. it is great to the present among our brothers and sisters. please join me as we pray. lord jesus christ, we pray for humanity.

being an incarnate and conceived in the womb of the virgin mary at the visitation of your holy spirit who lived among us, teaching us salvation, who was crucified for us, rising from the dead so all humanity could be restored to our ancestral dignity in paradise. extend your loving kindness and mercy to those who know you and reveal the same to those who know you not. lord of all look upon us, your servants have gathered here in the capital of our nation to rally against abortion. we gather in your name to witness to the sanctity of all life for you are the life of the world. let's all gather here raise their voices and hearts to fellow citizens and citizens affirming all that is precious in your site. let them remember the dignity for which all persons are created in your image and likeness.

do not let our zeal consume us but let it stand forth and righteousness. let us cast anxiety into the air and give good in return for evil. let these your faithful servants be exemplars of truth and justice but also of forgiveness and love. on this day lord of hosts bless your gathered servants and let their testimony reach those in need. civil authorities have legislated against the rights of free born and jurists who have voted against the sanctity of life and doctors that have brought harm and death. parents who made choices to ends life in the womb, some callous and less interested, others challenged and conflicted. other persons raised in a culture that espouses the right of some to kill.

bring about repent, affirm a right to end the life of the preborn which champions voluntary abortion and defend the indefensible. forgive them, lord, for they know not what they did. preserve the innocents who have been harmed through the scourge of voluntary abortion. let the love, power knowledge of your holy spirit international -- enter the hearts and minds of those who ignore the great gift and holiness of life. bless those who choose to do your will and forgive those who have ignored it. send mercy and comfort to those who grieve past abortions and strengthen the will of those conflicted by difficult choices and circumstances so that they will protect the sacred gift of life. let our voices and witnesses this day resound throughout the nation as a testimony before you the creator of all who knows the

knows the name of each even from their mother's womb and has counted every hair on the head of each and every person so, that before you every knee will bow giving glory to eternal father with your all holy and good spirit now and i have and through the age of all ages, amen. >> amen. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, bishop demetrius. when i look out at this enormous crowd i see the new face of the culture of life. [cheers and applause] >> i see it in a very special way in the tens of thousands of young people who have braved frigid temperatures to come to washington to deliver a simple but profound message. life is beautiful.

[applause] we may be freezing but we are freezing for the best cause in the world. [cheers and applause] >> you all have warm hearts and you are the new faith of the culture of life. many of you may have noticed that the march for life also has a new face. we have spent the last year building an organization that is stronger and more effective than ever. we have a new logo and new offices and a new staff of dedicated professionals doing extraordinary work. we are connected more than ever with people of all religions and faiths who share our pro-life convictions. we are strengthening our presence on capitol hill. working on both sides of the aisle to promote legislation that will protect life. we have a new robust social

media presence on facebook, twitter and instagram. [cheers and applause] >> our goal is not only to come together once a year but to be in touch with you 365 days a year and to work with you to build a culture of life in america. all of these extraordinary changes to the march for life are taking place under the skillful guidance of one of the most dynamic young pro-life leaders in america. join me in welcoming the president of the march for life, jeanie monahan. [cheers and applause] >> good afternoon again. is anyone cold out there? >> yeah. >> i want to welcome pro-life america to the march for life and thank every single one of you for being here.

i know it is a tremendous sacrifice for you who are brave being these extreme elements to be here today but no sacrifice is too great for this cause. [cheers and applause] >> i'm also very happy to report that this morning we received a very special message via twitter from pope francis. [cheers and applause] >> let me read it to you. this is propose francis's message to the young people in the united states today for the march for life. i join the march for life in washington with my prayers. may god help us protect all life especially the most vulnerable. [cheers and applause]

pretty exciting. so, i have a request for each of you. take a minute today to reply to pope francis. thank him for his pro-life views and tweeting us today. so, as we gather this morning i'm just going to take a minute or two to say a few things because we are all very cold. i feel compelled to speak about one issue in particular. that is something that has been called the war on women. what i really mean here is more specifically a war on motherhood. this war on motherhood -- this war on women has been called the war on women when the real war is a war on motherhood. every woman is not defined by her capacity to have children. the reality is that having a child is a miracle and it is an amazing beautiful gift, the gift of life. [cheers and applause]

>> one beautiful example of this is adoption, which bears a special witness to the incredible power of motherhood. any mother in our audience knows well that motherhood is defined by sacrifice motivated by love for her children. when a woman is facing an unexpected pregnancy and makes the choice to be a birth mother, she's being a heroic mother in the truest sense because she's making the ultimate sacrifice out of love for her child. in doing so she also helps another family embrace life. i want to share with you a very sad thing which is that 1.21 million babies annually are aborted in this country. this should be compared to only 15,000 to 20,000 domestic infant adoptions. there is something that is is wrong that for every one baby adopted in our country 64 are aborted. something is very wrong.

abortion is anti-woman. it is antifamily and anti-man and obviously anti-baby. not only does it snuff out the life of the little one but hurts mom physically and emotionally. for any woman out there who has made this decision you have to know that there will always be hope and healing and restoration of your motherhood. we will hear more from nicole in a few minutes. there's another powerful voice working against families and women and motherhood this year in the healthcare law. in the name of women's health we being forced by our government to cover drugs and devices that can destroy life in its earliest stages. sadly, these drugs and devices are falsely categorized as good for women whereas nothing could be further from the truth. we will hear more about this

soon from dr. donna harrison. but despite this truth is truth, freedom is freedom and life is life and you know that better than me and nothing can change that. millenials, you know that. i want to say all of you, young and old, thank you for being here today. today together we are going to end abortion and build a culture of life in the united states. [cheers and applause] >> now it is my great privilege to introduce our next speaker the majority leader of the united states house of representatives who changed his flight to israel to be here. [applause] congressman eric cantor has represented the seventh congressional district are virginia since 2001. currently in his second term as majority leader he is an ardent

pro-lifer. [cheers and applause] >> good afternoon! thank you, thank you very much for all being here today. thank you for brave being these unbelievably cold temperatures. thank you for coming to give voice to our cause protecting life. [cheers and applause] >> i especially want to welcome those from the commonwealth of virginia, the seventh district in particular. i believe that one day in the not too distant future our movement will be victorious because we will prevail in securing a culture of life in america. [applause] i believe that for one very simple reason. the truth is there is an inalienable right to life and

this right extends to the unborn. this is not a political truth subject to the whims of man. it is a moral truth and was written as one famous virginian noted by our creator. all attempts to rewrite or obscure this truth may prevail in the moment but will ultimately fail. you, the marchers, the advocates, who don't mind enduring the worst weather washington could throw at you for the opportunity to change one heart, one mind. you are a movement not so secret weapon. you are the strongest advocates and those of us in public office are merely fortunate to stand on your shoulders. now, i stand here today with colleagues, with others, with much hope. some of you have been marching

for over 40 years and have endured many setbacks including the recent expansion of a, about -- of abortion coverage in obama care. [booing] >> but it is important more now than ever that we remain strong and stand together. we can not allow the opponents of life to continually weaken the moral fabric of our country. they need to know and they need to understand that we will continue to march, we will continue to educate, we will continue to advocate and we will continue to fight for the unborn. [cheers and applause]

>> because it is the right and moral thing to do. those of us in the house of representatives will be right there beside you. last year the house, for the first time, passed the unborn child protection act. [applause] this bill is an utterly decent and moral proposal that would recognize in-laws of physical pain and abortion can cause an unborn child and would protect that child. this remains a top priority for me and for my colleagues. i'm proud to announce next week the house will vote once and for all to end taxpayer funding for abortion. [cheers and applause] >> the no taxpayer fund for abortion act written by our good

friend and colleague chris smith will respect the morals and consciences of millions of americans and ultimately will save lives. getting there bill through the senate, however, and signed by the president will be a much tougher task. but i can make you this promise. the people's house will stand for life. [cheers and applause] and we will do everything in our power to make sure that our values and the sanctity of life are reflected in the law of the land. thanks to you and the greater pro-life community around the community and with the help of great pro life leaders like my colleagues herd i know we will continue to make progress so that one day every child in america will be protected by law and welcomed to life. thank you all very, very much.

[cheers and applause] >> thank you, leader cantor for your leadership and sharing your thoughts with us. just a reminder about the cold temperatures today, if the cold is starting to get to you and you need medical assistance, we have two first aid tents located next to the sound towers out in the crowd. we are very fortunate to have several pro-life legislators with us this afternoon. i would like to take a moment to introduce them. of course, we had leader eric cantor of virginia the house majority leader. we also have representative

chris smith of new jersey. [cheers and applause] >> representative vick si hartsler of missouri. keith rossless of pennsylvania. representative andy harris of maryland. congressman mike kelly of pennsylvania. representative robert pittinger of north carolina. congressman brad winthrop of ohio. congressman bob latta of their. and representative ann wagner of ohio.tta and representative ann wagner from missouri. [cheers and applause] >> to share remarks i'm very happy to introduce congressman chris smith of new jersey, the co-chair of the bipartisan congressional pro-life caucus.

congressman smith has been co- care of the pro-life caucus over a quarter of a century and has been a courageous leader in advancing pro-life legislation in congress. please join me in welcoming mr. chris smith of new jersey. [cheers and applause] >> thank you for joining this extraordinary march and magnificent celebration of god's gift of life and recommitment of protecting women and children from the violence of abortion. despite the fact that president obama is using stealth, deception and coercive power of the state to promote abortion violence, the pro-life movement is alive are and well and making significant and sustained progress. in the last three years a record 200 pro-life laws have been enacted in the states. although the u.s. senate democratic leadership

refuses to even vote on pro-life legislation, that is not the case in the house understood speaker boehner and majority leader eric cantor. a majority of the house, as you heard, works to end the discrimination against baby girls killed by sex selection abortion. the real war on women. another bill that protects unborn children from excruciating pain. you know that abortionists are victim makers and since 1973 more than 56 million children have been brutally slain, a death toll that equates to the entire population of england. on the other hand, the compassionate people in the pro- life movement have for over 40 years welcomed, embraced, loved and deeply cherished both mothers at risk and co-victims of every post-abortive woman.

finally, ladies and gentlemen, in the run-up to the passage of obama care americans were repeatedly told by president obama himself including in a speech to a joint session of congress, that, and i quote, "under our plan no federal dollars will be used to fund abortion." oh, if that were only true. under obamacare billions of dollars in the forms of tax credits are today buying abortion, subsidizing health insurance plans in exchanges throughout the country. like the president's promise that you can keen your insurance plan if you like it, the massive public funding of abortion in obama care insurance plans breaks another solemn promise.

so to rid obama care of the master expansion of public funding ask your senators, ask your house of representatives to support the no taxpayer funding abortion act sponsored by 165 house members and a full quarter of the united states senate. as you heard, eric cantor is scheduling that legislation for a vote next week. finally, by the grace of god and because of you, your prayers and hard work, we are winning. [cheers and applause] >> and to the youth especially, never quit or grow weary or discouraged. your generation will end abortion. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> always such a blessing to here from congressman smith. we were also excited to have congressman dan lapinski the other co-chair of the pro-life conference but he is stuck on a tarmac in illinois. >> always such a blessing to

here from congressman smith. we were also excited to have congressman dan lapinski the other co-chair of the pro-life conference but he is stuck on a tarmac in illinois. he was excited to be here but he won't be able to join us. we are also delighted to have with us representative from illinois and michigan. [cheers and applause] >> our next speaker i'm so excited to introduce you to. a courageous pro-life legislator, adoption advocate, mother and former public school teacher. representative vicky hartzler was elected by the people of missouri's fourth congressional district in 2010. before that time she served her community as a state legislator and strong advocate for families in missouri. please welcome congresswoman vicky hartzler of missouri. >> thank you.

[cheers and applause] >> thank you so much. it is an honor to be here today with so many pro-life heroes from across this country. it is so great to see missouri right to life over here. so proud to represent the fourth congressional district. we are here today to remember the millions of lives devastated with abortion and to pledge ourselves anew to uphold the most fundamental important right in our nation and that is the right to life. abortion hurts everyone. it ends a beating heart. it leaves emotional wounds with women they carry for life and robs men the privilege of fatherhood. there are no winners with this procedure. that is why we must do

everything in our power to end this devastating practice. unfortunately, since 1973 over 56 million babies have died at the hands of abortionists totaling 1.2 million a year. there are more babies who per -- perish each year through abortion than people who live in an entire congressional district. these numbers translate into real lives. millions of babies who would have grown up to be our neighbors, friends, our teammates, co-workers and community leaders. who knows? if lives were not taken perhaps we would have a cure for cancer or some other medical breakthrough. think about it. in 2008 more children died from abortion than americans died in the revolutionary war, civil war, world war i, world war ii, korean, vietnam and gulf war combined. this must stop. [cheers and applause] >> every life is valuable and has a god ordained purpose.

wanted.es are some pregnancies are not expected but no baby is unwanted. one in eight couples have trouble getting pregnant and hundreds of thousands are waiting for adoption. caring men and women who long it be called by the precious words mommy and daddy. in 2007, there were only 18,078 infant adoptions in the united states. if there were 1.2 million babies who never had the chance to live, grow and be part of a loving family who was waiting for them to welcome them home. this must change. our society and our leaders must stop upholding abortion and start encouraging adoption. women who choose life for their baby and make an adoption plan

for their child should be championed and supported. not only do these enable an innocent baby to live they turn an empty house into a home and a household into a family. i should know. that is what happened to my husband and me over 14 years ago when a brave birth mother chose us to be parents to her baby. it is a gift we will always be eternally eternally grateful for and one which we can never replay but i'm thankful there a wonderful god who knows and sees and rewards and i know he will. [cheers and applause] i wish all couples who long to be parents have that chance. i wish the children whose lives were snuffed out through apportion had a chance to live, run and play and be part of a family. they are wanted. [cheers and applause]

>> that is why i'm unashamedly i stand for life as a united states representative. i know that is why you work tirelessly assisting him who faced a pregnancy and relaying the truth about abortion, that it stops a beating heart. your advocacy matters. thank you for all that you are doing support women. as paul said, let us not become weary in doing good. for us at a proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. rest assured i and my pro-life colleagues here and ones who could not be here, we will not give up. we will continue to do all that we can on capitol hill to ensure americans born and yet to be born enjoy the most basic rights to life. thank you. [cheers and applause]

>> i just want to say i know it is so cold, if there are any emergencies where people are extremely cold and need to get into a warming tent the first aid tents right there, if you need an emergency go to the first aid tent. we are happy to see that the crowd includes so many students and young adults who made sometimes very long trips. many of you have been active on our social media and we love to hear true. if you don't already like us on facebook or follow us on instagram or twitter do so today and similar your experiences and why you are march being with the hash tag #whywemarch, all one word. we want to help you march back home and we want you to continue acting on your pro-life convictions.

you can do this by texting the number 99000 and in the content of the text message put march and the number 4 life. it is up on our banners. you should be able to see that. next i'm so excited to introduce our next speaker. she is a student who made this trip to the march for life. she is a young woman with a remarkable story, elected to the 100th miss homecoming at auburn on the platform of adoption for women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy. i'm very happy to introduce you to molly ann dutton. [cheers and applause] >> good morning. i know it is quite chilly out here and me being from alabama i'm in the used to the cold. but being a college student i'm so tempted to check into my regularly scheduled program or tune in for the normalities of

life. but because i believe in something bigger than myself and because i believe in the giver of life himself i'm called to be to take an issue, a congress and transform it and walk it out -- a topic and transform it and walk it out into a story. recently i had such an opportunity as this to walk my story out through my homecoming campaign at my own university. it was completely inspired by a story. but my birth mother was a woman in california and through some series of events she was the victim of sexual assault, pregnant and faced with the ultimatum of abort the child or suffer divorce. but that took her to birmingham and she found life children services and walked in for counseling and walked out ready to put me up for adoption. through that decision here i am standing before you 22 years later. [cheers and applause]

>> not only this but i had that opportunity to share that with 25,000 college students and here i am at the washington mall in d.c. and the lord has used this according to his will and purpose. [cheers and applause] my story is god giving, ordained and breathed. i'm so glad to be here before you making an impact and affecting lives as they come in a special package, not a boy, girl or age or gender or race but my spirit of friendship calls out to my father and cries out for you and thank you for having me this morning. [cheers and applause] >> she is adorable, isn't she? [cheers and applause] thank you, molly ann.

we believe in the rights of the unborn child but we know abortion hurts women. our next speaker unfortunately knows this firsthand. she will share her story with you. nicole spent the last two decades sharing the stories of difficulty of sharing abortion and process of healing. please give a very warm welcome to a courageous pro-life advocate, nicole. [cheers and applause] >> good afternoon. we represent the silent moral awareness campaign. -- silent no more awareness campaign. we are women who have experienced abortion and we are sharing the truth of how it changed us at the supreme court this afternoon. i november thought i would be pregnant as a teen. we thought we were in love. i was a student athlete with a bright college future and a baby would ruin my life. i was afraid to tell anyone. i felt trapped and saw no other choice. at the clinic the staff didn't provide any counsel to me about

my options or the complications that would result. i vividly remember the sound and intensity of the vacuum. they took my money, my baby and my self-respect. the denial set in immediately and i was relieved yet sad and depressed. we never discussed that day again or the abortion. i thought lie with return to -- life would return to normal, but i was never the same. the relationship ended and the suicidal thoughts began. i felt damaged, unlovable, empty and so alone. for over 10 years i lived with guilt, shame and feeling inadequate and unworthy of love. i had failed relationships and became a workaholic. yet god didn't define me by past sins. i found forgiveness and hope and healing through jesus christ. praise jesus.

[cheers and applause] >> he is so good he heals us and i named my baby peter and i forgave myself. i hoped to have another baby but the reality set in. i would never conceive another child. infertility was my cross. by god's grace i married a wonderful man and we were blessed with two adopted baby boys. their mothers gave their children life and gave us a family. my story is one of over 2,000 testimonials posted on abortiontestimony.com. if you are here and hurting from abortion visit abortion forgiveness.com. we stand here because you have a choice, america. choose life. choose adoption. we are silent no more. [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much.

that was beautiful. >> thank you, nicole. hello pro-life america. [cheers and applause] >> i'm proud to serve as a board member of the march for life. i had the privilege of recognizing our student contest winners. as we focus on the life affirming message of adoption we asked middle school and high school students to reflect on our theme by submitting essays and posters for the annual contest. the snow unfortunately kept some winners away but i want it recognize them. from our middle school division we had the essay winner lauren higher from ohio. our poster winner christine gabriel from phoenixville, pennsylvania.

high school contest winner sydney hunter. and who was able to make it and stand up with us the essay winner for high school madison mcguire from columbia, maryland. [applause] to see all of the winning entries feel free to check out journal which mall.ilable here on the these essays and posters show why these young leaders march. be sure to share with all of us why you march for life by laking facebook and on following us on twitter and on instagram and using the hash tag why we march. be sure to text march for life to 99,000 to hear about updates throughout the year.

and from here i can't see the ends of the crowd, so get out your phones and cameras and take a picture and tweet it, post it on facebook and put it on instagram and show everyone out there what pro-life america really looks like. [cheers and applause] now, please welcome back to the podium our chairman, patrick kelly. [applause] >> thank you very much, tim. in the ongoing effort to target the latino community the abortion industry is showing that profit and not healthcare are so-called freedom of choice is what truly motivates them. today we are happy it welcome a young woman who truly demonstrates that the latino community is still a strong vibrant pro-life community. it is a community that is growing and sharing its pro-life character around the country.

join me in welcoming to the march for life giovanna romero. >> thank you. good afternoon, everyone. i'm a young professional in new york city and like many of you i recognize the value of every single human life and as a latina can no longer be silent. we cannot afford to. latinas and african-americans are being systematically targeted by the culture of death and we can no longer stay silent. we are the pro-life generation and we will be held accountable for what we did or did not do to top this genocide. who is with me to fight this we will be held accountable

for what we did or did not do to stop this genocide. who is with me to fight this good fight? [cheers and applause] >> we are the pro-life generation and we will make a mark in history. can i get an amen? >> amen! [speaking spanish] >> we are the pro-life generation. let them hear it all over latin america. we will make an end to abortion. can i get an amen? >> amen! >> gracias, thank you very much.

>> our next speaker is board certified obstetrician and gynecologist dr. donna harrison. she is pro-life because she knows what is good and knows the chemical and surgical abortions that are harmful to women. as executive director of the american association of pro life gynecologists and obstetricians she and her colleagues educate abortion vulnerable patients, the general public pregnancy center counselors and medical colleagues on the medical and psychological complications associated with induced abortion. please welcome to the stage dr. donna harrison. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, jeanne. i'm here on behalf of -- >> you have to use the microphone. >> all right. great.

i'm here representing the pro- life obstetricians and gynecologists in this country. [cheers and applause] >> we see our patients hurt by abortion. we see the preterm births that happens after abortion. we see the women who are sad and who are committing suicide. these are our patients that we care about and we want to see an end to abortion in this country. i'm also here to talk with you about the front lines of abortion because they are changing. the front line of abortion used to be the abortion clinic and now it is your dorm room. the front line used to be the hospitals and now it is the women who are given drugs and sent home to abort on their own. so, you now become the workers on the front line. it is up to you to be able to talk intelligently to your roommates and your friends about what these drugs actually do.

as jeanie mentioned there are drugs that are labeled as emergency contraceptives but are the same kind of chemical that is used as abortion. so, when you hear people say oh, you are just against contraception, what you are for is life and life for the embryo. life from fertilization. we have information on our website and we want to be a resource for you because you now become the front line on the battle for abortion. we want to stand with you. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, dr. harrison. we are actually coming pretty soon to the close of our rally. you are looking pretty cold so i will remind you about the first aid tents. keep it up, guys. as we are coming to a close we want to take a few minutes -- we don't have a few minutes so hang tight -- we want to take a few minutes to recognize the organizations with whom we work throughout the year in

advocating for a culture of life. while we all take different approaches and suffer different constituencies we share our strong pro-life views and come together here every single year with you to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. those joining me on the stage now are not all of our pro-life rally allies but at this time i'm happy to recognize a number of them. these include 40 days for life. [cheers and applause] >> alliance defending freedom. [cheers and applause] >> american association of pro life og-gyns. [cheers and applause] american renewal project. [cheers and applause] americans reunited for life and then there were none. we are talking about former abortion clinic workers who became pro-life.

it is a great organization. care net. center for ethics and culture university of notre dame. c-span. the charlotte institute. christian medical and dental association. concerned women of america. eagle forum. family research council. family talk. heartbeat international. the italian march for life. knights of columbus. free for life. manhattan declaration. and there are many more. i pray i haven't missed any up

here but thank you all for your very hard work. we love and respect you so much. students for life of america. [cheers and applause] >> thank you guys. thank you. our next speaker is a charismatic husband and father of two who is the host of two radio shows. he is the host of grounded with ryan dobson part of the family talk network and through his show he reaches thousands of listeners with a pro-life message of hope and favorite. -- and faith. he also co-hosts along with his father dr. dobson's long running and award winning show dr. james dobson's family talk. with his family ryan strives to be an example of christian inspiration to all.

welcome to the stage ryan dobson. [cheers and applause] >> how are you doing? are you cold? >> yeah. >> it is freezing here. thank you for being here. and braving this weather. i'm here to say thank you to you. all of you. you may or may not know but my birth mother was 17 years old, she was not married and didn't have a boyfriend and was terrified. didn't know what to do. her dad and her church put her on the doors of a pregnancy resource center around people like you opened their arms to her, showed her the love of christ and gave her an alternative. i'm here around alive today because of this movement. i'm here to say thank and you will continue to say thank you until abortion it ended in the united states. [cheers and applause] >> but i'm not here alone. i'm pro-life because my parents were pro-life. they prayed for me for 4 1/2

-- four four and a half years before i got adopted. it is my greatest pleasure in the world to work with my dad every day. will you please help me in welcoming my hero, dr. james dobson. [cheers and applause] >> greetings to all of you frozen people. your faces are cold but your but your hands and hearts are on fire, right? what a wonderful thing to see this crowd on a cold day like this. i can't make my mouth work. but i'm so glad to be here. you heard ryan's story which is one of the highlights of my life. let me tell you about my story. it was january 22, 1973.

i was on a freeway in los angeles driving home from work and the word came that the supreme court had legalized abortion for any reason or for no reason through the pregnancy of women. [boos] i grieved over it because i knew it meant millions of babies would die. who would have known it would be 56 million by this point 41 years later? three years after that, i was a professor of pediatrics at university of southern california school of medicine and children's hospital of los angeles. and my last appointment in the day was with a young couple, a pastor and his wife.

she had been having abdominal problems and went in for tests and they found that she was pregnant. she had had a lot of x-rays. the doctors all came and said you have to abort this child. it could be death. it could be blind. -- it could be deaf. it could be blind. it could be neurologically handicapped. they were christians. they came to see me. they asked what i would do. i said to them on that day, i don't know where this is going and i don't know what the outcome will be. i don't know what your baby will experience. but i say to you if it were shirley and me i would say give life to that baby. [cheers and applause] let that baby live. let god have his plan and his way. and they did. they took my advice.

that was 41 years ago. actually, 38 years ago. that baby was born perfectly normal. healthy, little girl. [cheers and applause] is now 38 years of age. she is married to a pastor. city, one in the inner- of the most dangerous places that they could live. feeding homeless people i'm bringing hope to the destitute. her name is christy. she has been a joy to everyone who has known her. i say to you and those who are watching on television if you are facing a similar situation, i can't come us what the outcome -- i cannot promise what the outcome will be. no one knows. but let your baby live.

[cheers and applause] thank you for being here. thank you for braving the cold. thank you for caring. look at the young people who are here. [applause] you are the hope of the future. together, we are going to win this fight. god's blessings to you. >> thank you, dr. dobson. one of my heroes. i missed a few names. i will go through them and then we will finish this thing up. leadership institute, let freedom ring. national black pro-life union. life runners. national religious broadcasters. online for life. operation rescue. personhood usa. republican national committee. silent no more.

students for life. southern baptists. the national right to life committee. thank you all for being here. before we begin the actual work, i will ask you if you have trash, trash it -- drop it in the trash area. i will invite back to the stage the wonderful dr. james thompson -- dobson to close with a minute of prayer. >> let's pray together. heavenly father, i thank you for every person who was here. every person who came to speak on behalf of the precious babies. i pray for all the women out there who have been through an abortion and are dealing with guilt and sorrow. i pray you will be with each one.

lord, bless this movement. may the children of the future have a chance at life. i think you for this group that has gathered, this huge throng today. we give you praise. these babies are yours. we will protect them. in thy name we pray. amen. >> amen! [cheers and applause] >> following the rally, activists marched to the supreme court. here is a look.

>> yeah! >> whoo!

[singing] >> the first glorious mystery is the resurrection. our father, who art in heaven, hallow be thy name. thy done, come, thy will be dailyus this day our bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and made us not into temptation. hail mary, full of grace. hail mary, mother of god. pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. thou mother of god holy mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners.

♪ >> created equal is about changing this culture. that would is what we have to do if we are going to win this fight. >> dr. martin luther king jr. said -- what kind of extremist will you be? an extremist for the preservation of justice or for the extension of injustice? >> support the march for life.

please be generous. it is your donation. please be generous and support the march for life. marshals are ahead. they are collecting donations for the march for life. >> donations for the march for life.

[cheers and applause] >> kneel for communion. you are a soldier of jesus christ. kneel for communion. [drumming]

♪ [drumming] ♪ ♪