As Mississippi Governor from 2012 to 2020, Phil Bryant knocked off key social ills. Rates for unemployment, high school dropouts and teen pregnancies hit record lows during his tenure. But what he really wanted to stop was abortion.

In an interview with IFA’s Dave Kubal, Bryant shared: “The number one issue— the first thing we all do as governors or anyone in public life— is public safety. To protect the lives of our citizens. These (pre-born children) are citizens. And they deserve due process. They deserve the constitutional rights of every citizen of the United States. They are children of God and we must lay down our lives, if necessary, to protect them.”

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Hope to do this came with the heartbeat bill and the science of the sonogram. “At about fifteen weeks, you can detect…that heartbeat, the brain is beginning to mature. Life clearly exists,” Bryant said. “So it was a viability question. Is that child viable? Is it a human life? And if it is a human life, does the state of Mississippi have a right to protect it? We said it does and we are going to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court.”

This case—Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health—aims directly at Roe v. Wade. Bryant said, “Our 10th amendment said all of those laws that are not prohibited—powers that are not specifically given to the federal government—are those of the states. We believe this is a states’ rights issue.”

Bryant is no stranger to the court system. He was sued over the state flag, religious freedoms, even the state budget. “And all of the cases went to the same judge. Remarkably the same Obama-appointed judge got every case in which I was sued,” Bryant said.

But things went differently with the lawsuit over the heartbeat bill. “It went to the Fifth Circuit and the Fifth Circuit said, ‘We’re trying to deliberate as to whether or not we will hear it,’’ Bryant said. “And the United States Supreme Court said, ‘We are going to hear it. We’re going to pull that out and bring it before the United States Supreme Court. Remarkable that this is happening at this time.”

Bryant isn’t shy about his goal: “[These judicial activists] thought it was a big deal, ‘Oh we got him to admit that he wants to [end abortion in Mississippi].’ Praise God I do! You got me! If you want me to say I want to end abortion, you got me. I’ll write it down and testify to it.”

His testimony is fueled from heaven. “I was just looking this morning at my devotional Jesus Calling. It says ‘Do not let any set of circumstances intimidate you. The more challenging your day, the more of My power I place at your disposal. Amen,’” Bryant said. “That is for today. He is placing His power at our disposal for this purpose and we can’t let any set of circumstances intimidate us.”

Meet Governor Bryant and other Champions for Life at IFA’s Appealing for Life event.