PERSONHOOD
PROCLAMATION: National
Sanctity of Human Life Day 1988
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.