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January 14,
1988
By the President of the United States
of America
A Proclamation
America has given a great gift to the
world, a gift that drew upon the accumulated wisdom derived from
centuries of experiments in self-government, a gift that has
irrevocably changed humanity's future. Our gift is twofold: the
declaration, as a cardinal principle of all just law, of the
God-given, unalienable rights possessed by every human being;
and the example of our determination to secure those rights and
to defend them against every challenge through the generations.
Our declaration and defense of our rights have made us and kept
us free and have sent a tide of hope and inspiration around the
globe.
One of those unalienable rights, as the Declaration of
Independence affirms so eloquently, is the right to life. In the
15 years since the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade,
however, America's unborn have been denied their right to life.
Among the tragic and unspeakable results in the past decade and
a half have been the loss of life of 22 million infants before
birth; the pressure and anguish of countless women and girls who
are driven to abortion; and a cheapening of our respect for the
human person and the sanctity of human life.
We are told that we may not
interfere with abortion. We are told that we may not "impose our
morality'' on those who wish to allow or participate in the
taking of the life of infants before birth; yet no one calls it
"imposing morality" to prohibit the taking of life after people
are born. We are told as well that there exists a "right" to end
the lives of unborn children; yet no one can explain how such a
right can exist in stark contradiction of each person's
fundamental right to life.
That right to life belongs equally to babies in the womb, babies
born handicapped, and the elderly or infirm. That we have killed
the unborn for 15 years does not nullify this right, nor could
any number of killings ever do so. The unalienable right to life
is found not only in the Declaration of Independence but also in
the Constitution that every President is sworn to preserve,
protect, and defend. Both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments
guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life without due
process of law.
All medical and scientific evidence increasingly affirms that
children before birth share all the basic attributes of human
personality -- that they in fact are persons. Modern medicine
treats unborn children as patients. Yet, as the Supreme Court
itself has noted, the decision in Roe v. Wade rested upon an
earlier state of medical technology. The law of the land in 1988
should recognize all of the medical evidence.
Our nation cannot continue down the path of abortion, so
radically at odds with our history, our heritage, and our
concepts of justice. This sacred legacy, and the well-being and
the future of our country, demand that protection of the
innocents must be guaranteed and that the personhood of the
unborn be declared and defended throughout our land. In
legislation introduced at my request in the First Session of the
100th Congress, I have asked the Legislative branch to declare
the "humanity of the unborn child and the compelling interest of
the several states to protect the life of each person before
birth." This duty to declare on so fundamental a matter falls
to the Executive as well. By this Proclamation I hereby do so.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby
proclaim and declare the unalienable personhood of every
American, from the moment of conception until natural death, and
I do proclaim, ordain, and declare that I will take care that
the Constitution and laws of the United States are faithfully
executed for the protection of America's unborn children. Upon
this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted
by the Constitution, I invoke the considerate judgment of
mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. I also proclaim
Sunday, January 17, 1988, as National Sanctity of Human Life
Day. I call upon the citizens of this blessed land to gather on
that day in their homes and places of worship to give thanks for
the gift of life they enjoy and to reaffirm their commitment to
the dignity of every human being and the sanctity of every human
life.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth
day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and
eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and twelfth.
Ronald Reagan
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