[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 133, 116th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9838 of January 18, 2019

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2019

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Today marks the 46th year since the United States Supreme Court's
decision in Roe v. Wade. On this day, National Sanctity of Human Life
Sunday, we mourn the lives cut short, and the tremendous promise lost,
as a result of abortion. As a Nation, we must resolve to protect
innocent human life at every stage.
As President, I am committed to defending the Right to Life. During my
first week in office, I reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which
prevents foreign aid from being used to fund or support the global
abortion industry. We are also working to end the abhorrent practice of
elective late-term abortion, a practice allowed in only seven countries
around the world.

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At home, we have issued a proposed regulation to implement the Title X
prohibition on funding programs that include abortion as a method of
family planning. I am supporting the effort in the United States Senate
to make permanent the Hyde Amendment, which has been added year after
year to spending bills and prevents taxpayer funding for abortion. And I
have explicitly informed the Congress that I will veto any legislation
that weakens existing Federal protections for human life.
My Administration has repeatedly demonstrated its respect for human life
and conscience at all stages. We have finalized conscience exemptions
from the contraceptive mandate to protect employers like Little Sisters
of the Poor from being forced to choose between violating their
religious beliefs and shutting their doors. We also increased the child
tax credit, making it financially easier for mothers to care for their
children after birth, while supporting the loving choices of adoption
and foster care.
As the opioid crisis severely affects our country, especially women and
babies, we are redoubling our efforts to help children born with
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. And we must do everything within our power
to protect the sanctity of life for the most vulnerable and defenseless
among us, including people with disabilities. Americans with
disabilities like Down syndrome are an inspiration, and their example of
joy and perseverance enriches our lives.
Our Constitution and our laws contain many protections for innocent
life, and I have worked hard for the confirmation and appointment of
judges--including two outstanding Supreme Court justices--committed to
the rule of law.
We commend the pro-life movement for the tremendous efforts it has made
to prevent the deaths of innocent unborn children, including through the
annual March for Life. For more than 46 years, courageous and faithful
citizens, many from college campuses and high schools across our
country, have extended big hearts and hands of compassion to young women
experiencing unexpected pregnancies. For decades, they have prayed
passionately and stood tirelessly for the sanctity of life, speaking up
for those who cannot speak for themselves. We honor, too, the many men
and women who share the precious gifts of life and family by adopting
babies and children, welcoming them into their homes and hearts.
Today, we recommit ourselves to protecting innocent life every day and
at every stage. We must continue to be a country that shows respect for
the dignity and worth of every person at every stage of life.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2019, as
National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Today I call on the Congress to
join me in protecting and defending the dignity of every human life,
including those not yet born. I call on the American people to continue
to care for women in unexpected pregnancies and to support adoption and
foster care in a more meaningful way, so every child can have a loving
home. And finally, I ask every citizen of this great Nation to listen to
the sound of silence caused by a generation lost to us, and then to
raise their voices for all those affected by abortion, both seen and
unseen.

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
third.
DONALD J. TRUMP