Stuck in Washington as Congress faces votes on continued funding of American military action in Libya, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, making his third bid for the White House, spoke via Skype to pro-life activists convening in Jacksonville.

I talk a lot about right-to-life, said Paul, who called it the most important issue of our age.

Paul, who was the Libertarian presidential nominee in 1988 and ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, called abortion a very bad sign for civilization.

To give abortion-on-demand is to show there is no respect for life, Paul told the National Right-to-Life Committee's (NRLC) annual convention.

Paul noted that he has been called a champion of liberty due to his call for a reduction in the size and scope of the federal government, his critiques of monetary policy and his attacks on American foreign policy.

Liberty is secondary to life, insisted Paul. If youre careless about the defense of life, you cant be a champion of liberty.

The congressman noted that when he went to medical school in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he never encountered or studied about abortion and grieved to see the practice become legalized and supported in America. He noted that the Hippocratic oath was no longer being administered to new doctors, arguing this is a sign of how accepted abortion has become.

Paul said pro-life advocates would never see an end to legalized abortion until the culture was changed.

The legalization of abortion has come from a change of morality, maintained Paul. We fight abortion at all levels but ultimately its the morality of the people that counts.

The congressman said he believed that the legalization of abortion led to the rise of a number of violent crimes across the United States. including increased incidents of child abuse.

Unlike many pro-lifers who want to see the federal government outlaw abortion, Paul said the best way to fight against it politically would be at the state levels.

I see abortion as an act of violence so I see it as a state issue, said Paul. When we make it a national issue, we get what weve had.

Paul said the Supreme Court of the United States should have never heard Roe v. Wade, the case that legalized abortion, and said that social issues -- including abortion, school prayer and marriage -- should be handled by the states and not by the federal courts.

The congressman pointed to the We the People Act that he has backed, which would take social issues back to the states, and expressed dissatisfaction with Congress for never passing it -- even when conservatives and Republicans controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress.

We could have stopped millions and millions of abortions, said Paul. We should not legalize the killing of an individual.

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