"Now, after America has won the last century's hard-fought struggles against unequal human rights in the forms of totalitarianism abroad and segregation at home, I cannot believe any official or citizen can still defend the notion that an unborn human being has no rights that an older person is bound to respect. I do know that we cannot go on forever feigning agnosticism about who is human. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, 'The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.' The freedom to choose is pointless for someone who does not have the freedom to live. So the right of 'choice' of one human being cannot trump the right to 'life' of another. How long can we sustain our commitment to freedom if we continue to deny the very foundation of freedom—life—for the most vulnerable human beings? ...
"[G]overnment must uphold every person's right to make choices regarding their lives and ... every person's right to live must be secured before he or she can exercise that right of choice. In the state of nature—the 'law of the jungle'—the determination of who 'qualifies' as a human being is left to private individuals or chosen groups. In a justly organized community, however, government exists to secure the right to life and the other human rights that follow from that primary right."
-- Paul Ryan, "The Cause of Life Can't Be Severed from the Cause of Freedom"
