Abortion and the Conscience
of the Nation

By Ronald Reagan

(Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984)

Reviewed by Congressman Vin Weber

Editor's note: During 1998, the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, NRL News is reprinting in each issue a document that illustrates the history of this battle to defend unborn children. This book review, which appeared in 1984, deftly summarized President Reagan's impassioned defense of the littlest Americans.

In what is being called a historic document, Ronald Reagan has once again touted America's traditional commitment to defend innocent human life in his book Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation.

President Reagan depicts U.S. abortion policy as a national disaster. Since 1973, Reagan notes, "more than 15 million unborn children have had their lives snuffed out by legalized abortions. That is over ten times the number of Americans lost in all our nation's wars."

The President moves through the history of America's constitutional protection of human life and concludes that the Supreme Court broke with this tradition in its decision of Roe v. Wade.

He denounces abortion, infanticide, and the "quality of life ethic" and calls for reversal of the "nationwide policy" of unrestricted abortion which, the President writes, "was neither voted for by our people nor enacted by our legislators."

Earlier this year, Reagan became the first U.S. President ever to appeal for unborn children in his State of the Union address. This book goes even further, enabling us to gain an unequivocal understanding of Ronald Reagan's deep convictions on the issue of abortion.

The editor of the Human Life Review claims that the starvation case of Baby Doe was clearly the catalyst that caused the President to "state his personal convictions in a public forum." He heralds Reagan's work as "instantly memorable if only because it evokes the moral passion of Abraham Lincoln against slavery."

In graphic and expressive language, this sitting President lays the precise groundwork for reversing the Supreme Court's grievous decisions. "Prayer and action are needed to bring protection to the unborn," Reagan proclaims.

He examines the work undertaken by his administration so far, including the achievements of Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in developing protection for handicapped infants. He also makes his strongest case yet for passage of pro-life legislation and a constitutional amendment that would "reverse the tragic policy of abortion-on-demand imposed by the Supreme Court" more than eleven years ago.

President Reagan strengthens his case by calling upon the words of some of the most renowned pro-life and human rights leaders of the world, including Mother Teresa and Abraham Lincoln. It is also very fitting that Reagan quotes from two individuals whose articles also appear in this book, Dr. Koop and English writer Malcolm Muggeridge.

The Muggeridge article, "The Humane Holocaust," and Dr. Koop's famous work, "The Slide to Auschwitz," are both moving components of the President's book. Together, the three essays provide the best single volume of powerful pro-life literature available today.

As a Member of Congress, I have had the opportunity to see first- hand the dedication of President Reagan to the cause of the unborn and handicapped, but I found the depth of his beliefs as expressed in this book truly remarkable.

In his hard-hitting conclusion, Reagan contends that America " cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion or infanticide." Isn't it hard to imagine, considering the meaningless promises we have heard from some in the past, that such statements are actually being made today by the President of the United States? We've come a long way!

I'm sure you will share my enthusiasm over the purpose and timeliness of Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation. It is must reading for all pro-lifers and may well be the battle cry whereby the course of history in our nation is changed for good.

Mr. Weber, a Republican, formerly represented Minnesota's Second Congressional District.