Pro-Life Movement Gaining Ground…

(by Melanie Hunter, Jan. 24, 2006, CNSNews.com) – President Bush Monday addressed pro-life demonstrators on Capitol Hill marking the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, congratulating them on the progress made in the pro-life movement.

In a telephone call from Manhattan, Kan., the president said he and other pro-life supporters believe “that every human life has value, that the strong have a duty to protect the weak, and that the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence apply to everyone, not just to those considered healthy or wanted or convenient.”

Bush said one of his first acts as president “was to ban the use of taxpayer money on programs that promote abortion overseas.” He expressed pride at signing the partial-birth abortion ban into law, adding that because of pro-life efforts, “infants who are born despite an attempted abortion are now protected by law.”

Because of “Laci and Conner’s Law,” or the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, “prosecutors can now charge those who harm or kill a pregnant woman with harming or killing her unborn child, as well,” said the president.

Also, pro-life supporters are “vigorously promoting parental notification laws, adoption, teen abstinence, crisis pregnancy programs and the vital work of our faith-based groups,” Bush noted. “We’re sending a clear message to any woman facing a crisis pregnancy: We love you, we love your child, and we’re here to help you,” he added.

But, the president said, there is more work to be done. He called on the Senate to pass a bill which the House has already approved that would “ensure that state parental involvement laws are not circumvented by those who take minors across state lines to have abortions.”

Bush made reference to the embryonic stem cell debate, calling on Americans to “respect human life and dignity when advancing medical science.” He noted the U.S. is making progress in this respect, because last month he signed “a pro-life bill supporting ethical treatment and research using stem cells from umbilical cord blood.”

The president also called on Congress to ban all forms of human cloning. “Because human life is a gift from our Creator and should never be used as a means to an end, we will not sanction the creation of life only to destroy it,” he said.

Bush said “by changing laws we can change our culture,” and he noted that pro-lifers are making progress, seeking “common ground where possible,” and “working to persuade more of our fellow Americans of the rightness of our cause.”

“And this is a cause that appeals to the conscience of our citizens, and is rooted in America’s deepest principles – and history tells us that with such a cause, we will prevail,” he concluded.

Reprinted here with permission from Cybercast News Service. Visit the website at CNSNews.com.