Thank you, President Bush.

I'm grateful that our country has been kept safe from any terrorist attacks since Sept. 11, 2001. I'm grateful that our President redirected his whole focus to protecting us after 9/11, so that nothing else like it would ever happen again on his watch.

And I'm grateful for the following proclamation, the likes of which we will certainly not see for the next four years.

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National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 15, 2009

The White House, President George W. Bush

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy
of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country
recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has
a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication
to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and
voiceless among us.

The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My
Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by
vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing
Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and
funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law
the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to
children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to
ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents
our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud
to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities
to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a
separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.

America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the
gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never
abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we
all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this
day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every
child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our
fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that
with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best
instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.

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 January 18, 2009, as National
Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day
with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting
and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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