[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 3 (Monday, January 19, 2004)]
[Pages 84-85]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7752--National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2004

 January 15, 2004

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    As Americans, we are led by the power of our conscience and the 
history of our country to defend and promote the dignity and rights of 
all people. Each person, however frail or defenseless, has a place and a 
purpose in this world. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we 
celebrate the gift of life and our commitment to building a society of 
compassion and humanity.
    Today, the principles of human dignity enshrined in the Declaration 
of Independence--that all persons are created equal and possess the 
unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness--
continue to guide us. In November, I signed into law the Partial-Birth 
Abortion Ban Act of 2003, reaffirming our commitment to protecting 
innocent life and to a basic standard of humanity--the duty of the 
strong to defend the weak. My Administration encourages adoption and 
supports abstinence education, crisis pregnancy programs, parental 
notification laws, and other measures to help us continue

[[Page 85]]

to build a culture of life. By working together, we will provide hope to 
the weakest among us and achieve a more compassionate and merciful 
world.
    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 18, 2004, 
as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to 
recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies in our homes and places 
of worship and to reaffirm our commitment to respecting 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 four, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
eighth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:38 a.m., January 16, 
2004]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on January 16, and it will be published in the Federal 
Register on January 20.