Several Republican senators have called on President Joe Biden honor Respect Life Month in October by flying the Pro-Life Flag at the White House and other government buildings.
In a letter to President Biden on Sept. 21, Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) wrote, “As Respect Life Month approaches, we write to you with a request to recognize and honor both unborn children and their mothers by flying the Pro-Life flag prominently in front of the White House and federal agency buildings for the month of October.”
“Earlier this year, your administration displayed the Pride Flag at the White House for Pride Month. We are asking you to also honor Respect Life Month and fly the Pro-Life Flag to send a powerful statement that our country celebrates Americans of all beliefs and is committed to protecting innocent and vulnerable life,” the letter added.
The senators said that a commitment to protecting and nurturing both born and unborn life is a core American value, shared by people across the nation.
“Flying the Pro-Life Flag during Respect Life Month would show the federal government stands alongside its citizens in upholding the unalienable truth that all people, including the unborn, have a right to life,” the letter said.
The United States Catholic Church celebrates Respect Life Month during October, with the first Sunday of the month designated as Respect Life Sunday.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, it serves to “build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death.”
Pride Flag
The Biden administration came under fire earlier this year for allegedly violating the U.S. Flag Code with its Pride Month display, which featured a rainbow-colored Pride Flag with two American flags either side, shared by President Biden on social media.
It sparked outrage among some social media users, who argued that the American flag should always be at the center of any display, as reported by Fox News.
The Pro-Life Flag was created by the Pro-Life Flag Project in support of anyone opposing abortion. Its white background represents an unborn child’s innocence, with two footprints in the center showing the unborn child’s humanity.
The hands above and below the footprints symbolize a mother’s love and protection for her unborn child. Both footprints next to each other form the shape of a heart. Two parallel pink and blue lines across the flag show the two unique lives in the pregnancy, emphasizing the importance of cherishing and protecting both the mother’s and the unborn child’s life.
“We believe that creating, promoting, and proudly flying a unified, freely-reproducible, international pro-life flag will wildly help the movement in its already-unified aim: ending abortion,” spokesman for the Pro-Life Flag Project James Chapman told Fox News.
Mr. Chapman compared the Pro-Life Flag not just to the Pride Flag, but also to the Thin Blue Line Flag, which expresses support for law enforcement, adding that it will enable supporters to stand in solidarity with the larger pro-life movement.
“People around the world, regardless of their stance on abortion, will see the flag, know its meaning, and be compelled to think about the reality of abortion. Through positive symbolism within the design, the flag will also serve to positively brand the movement that has, in many mainstream currents, been so vilified and misrepresented,” Mr. Chapman said.
According to Mr. Ricketts’s office, 20 letters were sent to Biden administration agencies with the request for the Pro-Life Flag.
“Many Americans felt the White House’s Pride celebration earlier this month and the flying of the Pride flag at the White House was a statement that you and your administration only celebrate some Americans,” Mr. Ricketts’s office said in a press release.
“I sincerely hope that is not the case. By also honoring Respect Life Month later this year and flying the pro-life flag, you would send a powerful statement that our country celebrates Americans of all beliefs and is committed to protecting innocent and vulnerable life,” it went to say.