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GOP presidential contender Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is welcomed by Sean Hannity at the Faith Assembly of God church Friday in Orlando, Florida.

(Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

The Rev. Jeff Fartro is pastor of Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church

In the last 20 years, Americans have been trending pro-life. A 2014 Gallup Poll notes that, in 1995, 56 percent described themselves as pro-choice and only 33 percent as pro-life. As of 2014, those numbers were 47 percent pro-choice and 46 percent pro-life. Other recent studies find as many as 58 percent of Americans oppose all or most abortions.

No wonder that all of this year's remaining Republican presidential candidates claim to be pro-life. But how does one candidate garner almost all of the pro-life endorsements?

In the Cleveland region, both NE Ohio Values Voters and Cleveland Right to Life have endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Previously, Georgia Right to Life backed Cruz. Further, Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue and a driving force to expose Planned Parenthood's handling of baby parts, also endorsed Cruz.

Cruz stands out as a pro-life favorite. What distinctions make him stand out?

First, Cruz, a Harvard Law School graduate and former Supreme Court clerk, sees a right to life in the U.S. Constitution. That right stems from the 14th Amendment and its declaration that life, liberty, or property may not be denied to any American without due process. Under Cruz's interpretation, unborn babies are covered. Cruz stated unapologetically in a 2015 interview with Robert George, his former professor of constitutional interpretation at Princeton University, "The first obligation of everyone in public office is to protect life."

According to Cruz, these legal ramifications would also allow Congress to do more to protect unborn life without overturning Roe v. Wade. In the interview with George, Cruz continued, "Life is foundational. In fact, as you look at the Declaration [of Independence], that ordering of unalienable rights -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- I think it's a very deliberate ordering. Without life there is no liberty, and without liberty there is no pursuit of happiness; that each builds upon the other."

Second, Cruz's position does not contain the "rape and incest" contradiction. The fundamental assumption behind the pro-life position rests upon the idea that a fetus is human from conception. The evidence for this runs as far back as 3,000-year-old Bible declarations such as, "You have been my guide since I was first formed ... from my mother's womb, You are my God" (Psalm 22:10-11). More recent scientific discoveries confirm that a human embryo is genetically unique, being neither father nor mother but a third distinct human organism.

Since the fetus is human, the fetus should be protected as a human. It does not matter how that fetus was created. Whether the conception occurs by rape, incest, or through a loving marital relationship, the fetus is still innocent and deserves protection. Moreover, to allow exceptions for rape and incest would leave the door open for undue temptation of a woman desiring an abortion to lie about how she became pregnant. Cruz does acknowledge, however, the possibility of an abortion when the mother's life is in serious jeopardy, a scenario that accounts for about 1 percent of all abortions.

Third, Cruz's record clearly supports his pro-life claims. As solicitor general of Texas, Cruz successfully defended before the Supreme Court the federal partial-birth abortion ban, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, and a law that prevents state funds from being sent to organizations that perform abortions. Additionally, he joined 18 states in successfully defending New Hampshire's Parental Notification Act before the Supreme Court. As a U.S. senator, a position he won carrying the endorsement of National Right to Life, Cruz has maintained a 100 percent pro-life voting record.

Pro-life groups see Cruz as not just a consistent talker but also as a consistent doer on behalf of the unborn. Richard Davis, director of Georgia Right to Life's Political Action Committee, states, "Senator Cruz has an unblemished record of standing up for innocent life." And Troy Newman concludes: "One man stands out as exceptional .... One man rises above the pack in his willingness to always tell the truth and do what he said he would do -- on life and on every issue that matters to social conservatives. That man is Ted Cruz."

The Rev. Jeff Fartro is pastor of Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church in Cleveland-Parma, an independent congregation and no longer connected with the Presbyterian Church in America, although Fartro is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. The denomination split from the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1973.

Editor's note: Because of an editing error, the author's description stated erroneously that the Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church was part of the Presbyterian Church in America. It is independent. The wording was corrected at 7:13 p.m.