Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday warned conservative voters that a culture of “self indulgence” is threatening traditional Christian values, and he accused primary challenger Mitt Romney of taking an anti-abortion stance for purely political reasons.
“For more than a generation our culture has emphasized a message of self-indulgence at the expense of social obligation… and we have reaped the consequences in the form of teen pregnancies, divorce, and broken families,” he said at the Values Voter Summit, a conference of socially-conservative voters in Washington. “The demise of the family is the demise of any great society.”
He boasted of his decision as Texas governor to defund Planned Parenthood, drawing enthusiastic applause from the audience.
“We must affirm the value of life,” he said. In a not-so-subtle dig at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — who has supported abortion rights in the past — Perry said, “For some candidates, pro-life is an election year slogan. To me, it’s about the absolute principle that every human being is entitled to life. All human life — all human life is made in the image of our Creator.”
Perry was introduced by Robert Jeffress, a pastor from Dallas, who suggested that his fellow Texan is the best presidential candidate because he is a “true follower of Jesus Christ.”
“Do we want a candidate who is a conservative out of convenience?” he asked, referring to Romney, a Mormon. “Or who is a born again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?”
