House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday shared with attendees the story of a life that almost was not — his own.
Johnson spoke Friday at the annual March for Life, held around the date of the since-overturned Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that claimed a legal right to abortion.
“I was the product of an unplanned teen pregnancy exactly one year before Roe, in January of 1972, and a lot of people tried to convince my very young parents that they should just ‘take care of that problem,’ but I am eternally grateful that they allowed me the chance at life,” Johnson said in a video posted to X.
Mike Johnson: “I was the product of an unplanned teen pregnancy exactly one year before Roe. A lot of people tried to convince my very young parents that they should just take care of that problem. But I am eternally grateful that they allowed me the chance at life.” pic.twitter.com/sdrAS0acH9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2026
Johnson said he was thankful for the sacrifices of his parents, especially since many others in his generation were not afforded the same love.
“I think of the millions of children that did not have that same opportunity. And every single child deserves the opportunity to fulfill their God-given potential. And it is up to us to defend that freedom and that right, that essential freedom to be born, the unalienable right to life that is imperiled in our generation,” he said, according to Mediaite.
Johnson told marchers he was “grateful you are willing to march and stand and speak for that issue.”
“I’m happy to say that all that is changing because of you, and despite the special interests that fund abortion, and despite the voices that tell you to look away from the beating heart, and despite all those who continue to deny the truth, you are here and we are here and we stand together for life,” he said.
Johnson said that the abortion industry finally suffered a setback this year.
“For years now, we know Medicaid funds have skirted the essential protections under the Hyde Amendment and funneled tax dollars to abortion providers. And we said no more. And in the working families tax cut, the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ for the first time ever, we finally defunded Big Abortion, and it was a long time coming,” he said.
“We stand here today to say the federal government should not be subsidizing any industry that profits from the elimination of human life,” he said.
Vice President J.D. Vance also addressed the assembled marchers.
“The March for Life, my friends, it’s not just about a political issue. As important as all this politics stuff is, it is about whether we will remain a civilization under God or whether we ultimately return to the paganism that dominated the past,” he said, according to the National Catholic Register.
“Today, the far left in this country tells our young people that marriage and children are obstacles; that it’s irresponsible, even immoral, because of climate change or some other reason, to encourage our young people to raise a family. They tell us that life itself is a burden. But we here at this march know that it’s a lie,” he added.
“The March For Life, my friends, is not about just a political issue… it is about whether we will remain a civilization under God, or whether we will ultimately return to the paganism that dominated the past.” – @VP JD Vance 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/CbqQPlpyo4
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 23, 2026
“We know that life is a gift. We know that babies are precious because we know them and we love them and we see the way they can transform our families,” he continued.
“We know that family is not just the source of great joy, but it’s part of God’s design for men and women, a design that extends outward from the family to our neighborhoods, to our communities, and to the United States of America itself,” Vance said.
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