Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley gave a stirring keynote speech last night to attendees at the Susan B. Anthony List “Campaign for Life” gala in Washington, DC.

In her prepared remarks, she talked about some of her very personal reasons for being pro-life:

Many of you know I am married to my incredible, super cool husband, Michael. He is a combat veteran and a Major in the South Carolina National Guard. He is truly a saint and being married to me you know he has to be exceedingly understanding.

But many don’t know that Michael and his four siblings spent several years in foster care. Foster care can be amazing, but it was not kind to Michael and his siblings. It was unkind.

Luckily, when Michael was five, he and his younger sister were adopted by a kind, loving couple who couldn’t have children of their own.

I often think about what would have happened if Michael hadn’t been so lucky…if his biological mother had chosen a different path…if his adoptive parents hadn’t been so compassionate…

Haley also talked about her and her husband’s struggles when it came to becoming parents:

Like so many other couples and families, we struggled for many years, riding a roller coaster of false hopes and painful disappointment. Throughout the slog of doctor visits and invasive tests, I had days that tested my faith and my resolve. But when I held our daughter in my arms for the first time, I felt what countless parents feel: that nothing could be more perfect and right in the world.

These experiences – the good and the bad – solidified for me what I had long known intellectually – that each and every life is a gift from God. That so many loving families want more than anything to raise and love a child. I can’t stomach the idea that we wouldn’t do everything in our power to protect and nurture those lives.

She then took a blow torch to the myth that women must automatically support abortion demand because they are women:

Women are expected to support choice – simply because we are women.

That’s just wrong. We all have to be true to ourselves and to others.

Unfortunately, many on the left use the abortion debate to divide women and demand conformity. They do this in the name of feminism.

But that is not real feminism. The idea that women must adhere to a particular set of values is one of the most anti-women ideas in today’s culture. It is a rejection of the ideas of equality and tolerance that the women’s movement is supposed to be about.

Watch her full speech below:

Haley, like La. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, is just one more pro-life advocate who is putting a human face on the movement, showing America that the vast majority of us who believe in protecting unborn life aren’t monsters who “want to control women.”

We care. We won’t be shamed into silence. Our voices matter, too.

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—Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter.–