President Reagan’s National Sanctity of Human Life Day proclamation marks 40th anniversary January 19
This weekend will mark the 40th observance of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. While Christians use the day to pray and mourn for the pre-born who have been lost, many are not aware the annual church event originated in the White House with former President Ronald Reagan.
President Reagan issued a presidential proclamation on January 22, 1984, designating the third Sunday of January (or close to that) as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Pastors, churches and life organizations across the United States use this day to bring awareness to the attacks that are daily waged against human life through the abortion industry.
One of the best ways to protect unborn lives is by bringing to light the darkness of abortion, and supporting local pregnancy help organizations that reach women and families with messages of hope and life.
On the 10th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, President Ronald Reagan wrote an essay about abortion that was published in The Human Life Review and later issued as a book titled “Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation,” which is the only book published by a sitting U.S. president. The essay is one of the most forceful defenses of life and the strongest denunciations of abortion ever issued by an American president.
President Reagan wrote, “The real question today is not when human life begins, but, What is the value of human life? The abortionist who reassembles the arms and legs of a tiny baby to make sure all its parts have been torn from its mother’s body can hardly doubt whether it is a human being. The real question for him and for all of us is whether that tiny human life has a God-given right to be protected by the law – the same right we have.”
“I have often said we need to join in prayer to bring protection to the unborn,” he added. “Prayer and action are needed to uphold the sanctity of human life. I believe it will not be possible to accomplish our work, the work of saving lives, ‘without being a soul of prayer.’”
A year later, Reagan issued “Proclamation 5147 — National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 1984,” which notes, “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.” The proclamation designated Sunday, Jan. 22, 1984, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day: “I call upon the citizens of this blessed land to gather on that day in homes and places of worship to give thanks for the gift of life, and to reaffirm our commitment to the dignity of every human being and the sanctity of each human life.”
Reagan would go on to issue the proclamation annually until he left office in 1988. His successor, George H.W. Bush continued the tradition, as did George W. Bush. The practice was discontinued during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, but resumed under Donald Trump. In one of its final acts before the swearing in of a new president, the Trump White House issued a proclamation in 2020. President Joe Biden has not issued a pro-life proclamation in either 2021 or 2022.
It is estimated there have been 65,464,760 legal abortions in the United States since Roe v. Wade was enacted as law in 1973, based on combined statistics of the The Guttmacher Institute, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and the National Right to Life Committee. Since the Dobbs decision of 2022 counting abortions became more difficult due to the increased sale of the abortion pill and varying abortion laws across the U.S.
Resources for churches are available at sanctitysunday.com, erlc.com/sanctity-of-life-sunday and christianliferesources.com/2021/01/19/u-s-abortion-statistics-by-year-1973-current.
Sources: Christian Life Resources, Alliance for Life Missouri, Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and Baptist Press
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