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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