The values and freedoms we cherish as Americans rest on our fundamental commitment to the sanctity of human life. The first of the “unalienable rights” affirmed by our Declaration of Independence is the right to life itself, a right the Declaration states has been endowed by our Creator on all human beings—whether young or old, weak or strong, healthy or handicapped.
Since 1973, however, more than 15 million unborn children have died in legalized abortions—a tragedy of stunning dimensions that stands in sad contrast to our belief that each life is sacred. These children, over tenfold the number of Americans lost in all our Nation's wars, will never laugh, never sing, never experience the joy of human love; nor will they strive to heal the sick, or feed the poor, or make peace among nations. Abortion has denied them the first and most basic of human rights, and we are infinitely poorer for their loss. We are poorer, not simply for lives not led and for contributions not made, but also for the erosion of our sense of the worth and dignity of every individual. To diminish the value of one category of human life is to diminish us all.1
We come now to our day and to the president who may turn out to be the most pro-life chief executive of them all. He is Donald Trump, who, in one year in office, has done more to protect unborn babies than any of his predecessors. Consider what he has accomplished for that cause in his first year in power:
1) One of the first actions by President Trump after the inauguration in January 2017 was to reinstate the Mexico City Policy that bans U.S. funding for non-governmental organizations that promote abortions overseas. Trump sent Vice President Mike Pence and presidential counselor, Kellyanne Conway, to speak at the March for Life in Washington on January, 22, 2017.2 2) In April 2017, Trump signed a resolution that overturned former President Barack Obama’s end-of-tenure rule that forced states to provide family planning grants under Title X to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.3 3) Also in April 2017, the State Department announced it would withhold federal funding from the U.N. Population Fund because of its support of Chinese agencies that perform forced abortions and sterilizations.4 4) Trump also began leaving a potentially significant pro-life mark on the judicial branch, with his nominations of new judges for the federal courts. The most significant appointment so far has been naming Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court as successor to the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch was approved by the Senate on April 7, 2017.5 5) President Trump nominated Amy Barrett to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 31. “Judge Amy Barrett’s confirmation is a victory for the pro-life movement as well as for the fundamental freedom of all Americans to live out their faith in the public square. We thank President Trump for keeping his promise to nominate judges who will respect the Constitution and not impose a pro-abortion agenda from the bench,” said Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser.6 6) The House did approve the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks — but the bill remains stalled in the Senate. Trump promised his pro-life supporters he would sign the bill into law if it reached his desk.7 7) In October, Trump also officially reversed the Obama administration’s HHS contraceptive mandate for employers with religious and moral objections. The provision forced most employers to provide free birth control, sterilization procedures, and abortion-inducing drugs to employees through health insurance plans.8 8) On December 12, the Senate approved a pro-life appellate court nominee and pro-life groups are celebrating the confirmation of Steve Grasz to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit Court. (While serving as Nebraska’s Chief Deputy Attorney General, Judge Grasz authored nine briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and defended the state’s ban on partial-birth abortion before the Supreme Court in Stenberg v. Carhart.)9
2) In April 2017, Trump signed a resolution that overturned former President Barack Obama’s end-of-tenure rule that forced states to provide family planning grants under Title X to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.3
3) Also in April 2017, the State Department announced it would withhold federal funding from the U.N. Population Fund because of its support of Chinese agencies that perform forced abortions and sterilizations.4
4) Trump also began leaving a potentially significant pro-life mark on the judicial branch, with his nominations of new judges for the federal courts. The most significant appointment so far has been naming Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court as successor to the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch was approved by the Senate on April 7, 2017.5
5) President Trump nominated Amy Barrett to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 31. “Judge Amy Barrett’s confirmation is a victory for the pro-life movement as well as for the fundamental freedom of all Americans to live out their faith in the public square. We thank President Trump for keeping his promise to nominate judges who will respect the Constitution and not impose a pro-abortion agenda from the bench,” said Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser.6
6) The House did approve the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks — but the bill remains stalled in the Senate. Trump promised his pro-life supporters he would sign the bill into law if it reached his desk.7
7) In October, Trump also officially reversed the Obama administration’s HHS contraceptive mandate for employers with religious and moral objections. The provision forced most employers to provide free birth control, sterilization procedures, and abortion-inducing drugs to employees through health insurance plans.8
8) On December 12, the Senate approved a pro-life appellate court nominee and pro-life groups are celebrating the confirmation of Steve Grasz to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit Court. (While serving as Nebraska’s Chief Deputy Attorney General, Judge Grasz authored nine briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and defended the state’s ban on partial-birth abortion before the Supreme Court in Stenberg v. Carhart.)9
1. Regan Library 2. NC Register 3. Breitbart 4. NC Register 5. ibid. 6. Life Site News 7. Breitbart 8. ibid. 9. Life News
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