Top Stories of 2004: Pro-Life Leaders Implore Bush to Prioritize Protecting Unborn Children
by Rusty Pugh and Jenni Parker
December 30, 2004
(AgapePress) - Two prominent pro-lifers are urging George W. Bush to make the most of the unique opportunity his re-election has given him to push forward the culture of life.Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, says Bible-believing Christians were the key to George W. Bush's victory in the 2004 election, and he had better not forget it. Now Operation Rescue is calling on the president to take prompt and aggressive action to stop the shedding of innocent blood through abortion in America.
"What this election amounts to," Newman says, "is an absolute mandate for President Bush to act on the pro-life convictions that he says he has. It has been the pro-life, pro-family community that has finally risen to the occasion and put him back in office. So now he has four years to make abortion illegal once and for all."
Pro-life activists realize, however, that a number of obstacles remain in the path toward that goal, particularly in the form of liberal opposition to Bush's social agenda. And recently, another hurdle presented itself in the form of Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican who is expected to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year.
The day after the election, Specter warned the newly re-elected president against proffering any Supreme Court nominees who would likely seek to overturn abortion rights or who are otherwise too conservative. But the head of Operation Rescue is calling upon the president to stand firm in the face of such opposition. He says Bush must not be swayed by the likes of Senator Specter or by pro-abortion liberals in Congress, but instead must seize this opportunity to appoint men and women to the federal bench who share his life-affirming values.
"We're asking the president to appoint federal judges -- these are lifetime appointments," Newman says, "and when it comes time to appoint one, two, three or maybe even four Supreme Court justices, that he do so immediately with courage and vigor and a pro-life resolve."
A Call for Commitment to Pre-Born Personhood
The leader of the American Life League is also urging Bush to remember his pro-life constituency and the innocent unborn children for whom they are advocating. In a recent statement, ALL president Judie Brown called upon the president to embrace a truly pro-life position by supporting a "Personhood Proclamation" similar to the one President Ronald Reagan first issued in 1988.
That year, on National Sanctity of Human Life Day, Reagan rose to the challenge of enacting his pro-life values when he wrote that, as President of the United States, he did "hereby proclaim and declare the unalienable personhood of every American, from the moment of conception until natural death." The leader of ALL is hoping pro-lifers can count on George W. Bush to show a similar courage and commitment to life.
"The president refers to his faith as a force that guides and directs his decisions," Brown notes. "We pray that he will not succumb to pressure, but truly rely on his moral compass to issue such a proclamation so that not one innocent human being is left behind."
Brown says America's "values voters" made it clear that their major motivations for re-electing President Bush were his stances on moral issues and values. While she is convinced of the president's good intentions, she is appealing to pro-life citizens to raise their voices and "encourage him to boldly lead the people who so eagerly elected him."
ALL's president is asking pro-life Americans to contact the White House at 202-456-1111 or president@whitehouse.gov and urge President Bush to mark the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade by pledging his commitment to full personhood for every living human from the moment of conception. Brown says not only are pro-lifers counting on Bush but, more importantly, so are the nation's unborn children.
