Proclamation
5761
National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 1988
PERSONHOOD
PROCLAMATION
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.
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