“It all for me begins with cherishing the dignity, the worth, the value of every human life,” Pence said on the debate stage. “For me the sanctity of life proceeds out of the belief that ancient principle that where God says before you were formed in the womb I knew you.”

He harshly criticized Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine for their support of abortion.

“The very idea that a child that is almost born into the world could still have their life taken from them is just anathema to me. And I can’t conscience about a party that supports that,” he said.

Earlier this year, Pence became the first sitting vice president to address the March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Pence is also known for his support of traditional marriage – he favored passage of a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

He also signed a state version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to establish legal protections for all those who conscientiously support traditional marriage and wish to live out their beliefs.

After a national uproar over the law’s perceived intolerance, Pence signed an amended version, one that Ryan Anderson of the Heritage Foundation argued effectively gutted religious freedom protections for entities other than non-profits. In conflicts involving sexual orientation and gender identity, the law only protected non-profits and their extensions.

Pence also had a public disagreement with the Archbishop of Indianapolis Joseph Tobin over the archdiocese’s role in resettling Syrian refugees.

After it was alleged that a terrorist posing as a Syrian refugee was responsible in part for the Paris terror attacks last November, the governor asked for a temporary halt to resettlement programs in the state for Syrians.

Before he met with Governor Pence to discuss the matter a few weeks later, Archbishop Tobin asked Catholic Charities to resettle a Syrian refugee family in Indiana.

After the meeting, Pence’s office responded that the governor “respectfully disagrees with their decision to place a Syrian refugee family in Indiana at this time.” The dispute between the governor and the archbishop drew significant media attention in the days that followed.