Since January 22 marks the 45^th year since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, along with its companion case Doe v. Bolton, that purported to legalize killing a pre-born baby’s life for any reason and at any stage of development, President Donald Trump proclaims today as National Sanctity of Human Life Day.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation designating January 22 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Part of the proclamation states: “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’s successor, George H. W. Bush, continued the annual proclamation throughout his presidency.  Bush's successor, Bill Clinton, discontinued the practice but George W. Bush, resumed the proclamation, and did so every year of his presidency. President Obama had never issued a National Sanctity of Human Life proclamation during his presidency.

In President Trump’s proclamation, he states: “Today, we focus our attention on the love and protection each person, born and unborn, deserves regardless of disability, gender, appearance, or ethnicity. Much of the greatest suffering in our Nation’s history — and, indeed, our planet’s history — has been the result of disgracefully misguided attempts to dehumanize whole classes of people based on these immutable characteristics. We cannot let this shameful history repeat itself in new forms, and we must be particularly vigilant to safeguard the most vulnerable lives among us. This is why we observe National Sanctity of Human Life Day: to affirm the truth that all life is sacred, that every person has inherent dignity and worth, and that no class of people should ever be discarded as ‘non-human.’”

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