Mike Pence in 2014 Governor's State of the State speeches

On Families & Children: Adoption is a beautiful way for families to come together

Karen says people always tell her she's changing her kids' lives. She says, "They are changing mine." Please join me in welcoming Karen and her children tonight.

Adoption is a beautiful way for families to come together forever. We can better support families like Karen's by expanding and improving adoption in Indiana. We can improve the way we place children from state care into adoptive homes, and we can support every parent who is willing to lovingly adopt a child into their home. Let's make it our aim to make Indiana the most pro-adoption state in America.

On Health Care: Medicaid is not just broke, it is broken

There's been a lot of talk about Medicaid. The sad truth is that traditional Medicaid is not just broke, it is broken. Research shows that the program does not lead to better health outcomes and in some cases hurts the very people it is supposed to help. One analysis found 2/3 of the children on Medicaid who needed to see a specialist, couldn't. Traditional Medicaid is not a system we need to expand. It's a system we need to change. The Healthy Indiana Plan is the right place to start.

The Healthy Indiana Plan is consumer-driven healthcare that moves people from emergency rooms to primary care and encourages low-income Hoosiers to take more ownership of their own healthcare decisions.

On Local Issues: Miracle on Mt. Baldy: that's the Indiana way

Six- year-old Nathan Woessner simply vanished into the sand. His dad ran to the scene, marshaling help even while frantically digging for his son. Police raced to the dune and were joined by beach goers using their bare hands as local businesses rushed machinery to clear away the sand. Even reporters covering the story were seen using their notepads to dig.

For 3 hours, no one gave up out of the nearly 140 people on that sand dune, until a firefighter felt a hand beneath the surface and pulled little Nathan to safety. They called it the Miracle on Mt. Baldy.

When I called Nathan's dad at the hospital to see how he was, I told him I thought it was a miracle. Greg told me, "Governor, this is everyone's miracle." And so it was. That's the Indiana way.