NRLC 2000
Pro-life Gov. George W. Bush: "As President I Will Sign a Bill to End Partial-Birth Abortion."

Editor's Note. The following are the remarks of pro-life Texas Gov. George W. Bush in his video presentation to NRLC 2000.

Hello. This is Governor George W. Bush and I appreciate this chance to speak to you again. I am pleased to welcome everyone gathered for the National Right to Life Convention.

For 27 years, more than a generation now, you have championed the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence, the right on which all other rights depend. There have been some victories and there have been some setbacks, but you have never lost faith. You have never abandoned the cause of life. I honor your commitment.

The promise and welcome of our society should extend to all - - to the poor and the fatherless, to the elderly and the dying, to those with sickness and disability, to the born and the unborn. In this cause we must speak the language of life and of love, as you have always done.

We must appeal, not to the things that divide us, but to the things that unite us, even when unity seems distant. The late Governor Robert Casey said it best. "Abortion," he said, "is not a question of when life begins. It is a question of when love begins." It's really not a partisan matter, as Governor Casey often reminded us.

It crosses all lines of party, speaking directly to the conscience of America. When President Clinton vetoed the bill to ban live birth abortions, many Democrats were as appalled as most Republicans.

There are grounds for agreement. Though most Americans have honest disagreements on this issue, most can agree on the goals of providing real and compassionate alternatives, parental notification, opposing federal funding, and promoting of adoptions.

And the first order of business is clear. It was National Right to Life that first brought partial-birth abortion to the attention of America. Dr. C. Everett Koop called the practice medically indefensible. Senator Pat Moynihan compared it to infanticide, and you at National Right to Life and all of the American people have this, my pledge: As President, I will sign a bill to end partial-birth abortion. These are steps toward the day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law. They are not just items on an agenda, but part of a broader vision, a culture of life, a fair and decent society where the weak are not a burden but a priority, where hard cases are given special care, where hope is offered to mother and child alike. America should be, in the words of Pope John Paul II, "A hospitable society, a welcoming culture."

To this calling you have given your all. I thank you for your great work these past 27 years. Yours is not only a good and selfless cause, it's also a winning cause. Thanks for listening and God bless.