Happy National Sanctity of Human Life Day!

Hey, kids, aren’t you excited? Sunday is National Sanctity of Human Life Day! Woo-hoo! What a fabulous idea! Better get those Sanctity of Human Life party hats and games dusted off. Anyone up for a rousing game of Pin the Unwanted Pregnancy on the Rape Victim?  I love me a national holiday that is decreed by our beloved President and pays no attention to that nasty Separation of Church and State silliness some of those crazy liberals still moan about.

In case you missed it, here’s the official order that was posted on the White House website yesterday:

A Proclamation by the
President of the United States of America

America was founded on the principle that we are all endowed by our Creator with the right to life and that every individual has dignity and worth. National Sanctity of Human Life Day helps foster a culture of life and reinforces our commitment to building a compassionate society that respects the value of every human being.

Among the most basic duties of Government is to defend the unalienable right to life, and my Administration is committed to protecting our society's most vulnerable members. We are vigorously promoting parental notification laws, adoption, abstinence education, crisis pregnancy programs, and the vital work of faith-based groups. Through the “Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002,” the “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003,” and the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004,” we are helping to make our country a more hopeful place.

One of our society's challenges today is to harness the power of science to ease human suffering without sanctioning practices that violate the dignity of human life. With the right policies, we can continue to achieve scientific progress while living up to our ethical and moral responsibilities.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day serves as a reminder that we must value human life in all forms, not just those considered healthy, wanted, or convenient. Together, we can work toward a day when the dignity and humanity of every person is respected.

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 21, 2007, 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 eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

GEORGE W. BUSH

You go, George. By the way, who wrote that proclamation, Lewis Carroll? “Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe…” I’m so grateful that the Bush administration has made our country “a more hopeful place” and that they are continuing to live up to their moral and ethical responsibilities. Thank God they are committed to protecting “society’s most vulnerable members.” But wait, who do they mean by that? Could it be people living in poverty, minority groups, at-risk children, senior citizens, or those in desperate need of health care, insurance, or stem cell research? Maybe it refers to the military personnel stationed in Iraq? That would be appropriate since today was one of the deadliest days on record for our men and women over there. No? What’s that? It’s really National Anti-Abortion Rights Day, timed to coincide with the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade?  Oh damn, and I already had my Happy National Sanctity of Human Life Day t-shirt printed up. Maybe I’ll save it for use two years from today when our dear leader leaves office for good in the year of our Lord two thousand nine.

Comments

[churlita]

Oh, I don't even know what to say to this blessed holiday and the president's endorsement of it. Oh wait, it's coming to me...What a load of crap! There, I said it.

I love your post, and that cartoon was brilliant. I worked at a clinic and saw enough pregnant 12 year olds to make me EXTREMELY pro-choice.

[Elisabeth]

This is totally outrageous - thanks for the post, I had no knowledge of this move mde by Dubya.

[TherapyDoc]

Thanks Danny. This might have totally passed me by.

[FX SAUVAGE]

This -- I mean W's statement -- sounds to me like another one of his hypocritical pieces of bigotry.
It deserves no more comment -- at least from me. Just my disdain.
Curiously, January 21 is the anniversary of the beheading of French king Louis the 16th in 1793, during the French revolution.
It's also my granddaughter's birthday (2 years old this year). Yeah!

[Neil]

I'm not sure you need to even bring up Iraq, poverty, etc. to shake your head at this one. Frankly, I have a problem with sentence one of the proclamation:

"endowed by our Creator with the right to life"

Who said this? What does this mean? Is this like the right to vote?

[Melinda]

It's National "Shore Up My Slipping Poll Numbers With the Religious Right" Day.

[david]

Wow. That's a tone we don't usually hear from you! But it's completely appropriate. The irony of such a proclamation is too much to bear.

[emilybarton]

"...underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being." That is, of course, unless you're a Muslim (or, maybe just happen to LOOK like a Muslim), and we think we may have heard you say something about Osama Bin Laden (although it wasn't real clear over that fuzzy wire tap. You may have just been talking about the laundry or something), and we're about 75% sure you have some interesting information that will help us fight this "war on terror." Then, well, you know, commitments are meant to be broken, aren't they? And a little torture in the name of God and righteousness never hurt anyone.
P.S. Tomorrow is "Blog for Choice Day." Looks like you already have.