[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 119, 109th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 7863--JAN. 14, 2005
Proclamation 7863 of January 14, 2005
National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2005
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that all Americans are
endowed by the Creator with the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we
celebrate the sacred gift of life.
We have a responsibility in America to defend the life of the innocent
and the powerless. Our Nation has made significant progress in recent
years toward building a culture of life. Last year, I signed into law
the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which provides that any
person who causes death or injury to a pregnant woman commits two
separate offenses. I worked with members of both parties to ban the
brutal practice of partial-birth abortion, and I signed the Born-Alive
Infants Protection Act. Working with the Congress, my Administration has
halted spending of taxpayers' money on international programs that
promote abortions overseas. We continue to promote abstinence education,
adoption programs, crisis pregnancy programs, and other efforts to help
protect life.
My Administration remains committed to the steadfast belief in the
dignity of every human being and the promise of every life. Across our
country, we must continue to encourage our citizens to make ours a more
just and welcoming society in which every child is born into a loving
family and protected by law. We will work with decency and respect to
change hearts and minds, one person at a time. In doing so, we will
build a lasting culture of life and a more compassionate society.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Sunday, January 16, 2005,
as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to
recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies in our homes and places
of worship and to reaffirm our commitment to respecting the life and
dignity of every human being.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
ninth.
GEORGE W. BUSH