On the morning of February 3, 1994, a diminutive 83-year-old nun gave a speech to 3,000 people at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Starting slowly and barely visible behind the lectern and microphones, she delivered a powerful message that still resonates today.

Mother Teresa spoke forcefully about abortion, calling it “the greatest destroyer of peace today,” “a war against the child” and “a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.” She continued, with implacable logic: