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After White House trans flag controversy, Senators demand Biden fly pro-life flag
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and 2 of his colleagues challenged President Biden to show 'inclusivity' to pro-life Americans for Respect Life Month
By Chris Pandolfo
EXCLUSIVE — Republican senators are calling on President Biden to honor Respect Life Month in October with a display at the White House to match the one shown for LGBTQ+ Pride Month last June.
In a letter sent to the White House on Friday, Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., challenged Biden to show "inclusivity" to pro-life Americans by displaying the Pro-Life Flag prominently at the White House and federal agency buildings during the month of October.
"Earlier this year, your administration displayed the Pride Flag at the White House for Pride Month," the senators wrote. "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."
"We know that the commitment to protecting and loving both unborn children and mothers is shared by Americans in every state and territory across our great nation," the letter continues. "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."
In October, the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month and the first Sunday of October is designated Respect Life Sunday. The time is meant as a period of reflection on why every human life is valuable and how to "build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death," according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration received backlash over its Pride Month display at the White House for appearing to violate U.S. Flag Code.
Biden celebrated the LGBT community in a social media post, that revealed a set of flags hanging from the White House that faced the South Lawn. The display includes a rainbow-colored Pride flag flanked by two American flags.
Social media users argued the display violated a section of the U.S. Flag Code that mandates the American flag be in the center of any display featuring multiple national flags or pennants.
The Pro-Life Flag Republicans want Biden to display next month was created by the Pro-Life Flag Project as a unifying symbol for those who oppose abortion.
"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," said spokesman James Chapman.
"Just as the rainbow flag has raised awareness for and significantly contributed to the success of the LGBTQ movement or as the Thin Blue Line flag has come to represent support for law enforcement, flying or displaying the pro-life flag will be a means by which everyday pro-life supporters can stand in solidarity with the larger pro-life movement," he continued.
"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."
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.