|
|
|
|
What follows is a press release from the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) in Washington, issued Tuesday, January 28, 2003, at 10:30 p.m. ET. For further information, email nrlc@nlrc.org, visit the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org, or contact the NRLC Federal Legislative Department at 202-626-8820.
Following
tonight's State of the Union message, the National Right to Life Committee
(NRLC) applauded President Bush for calling on Congress to pass legislation
to ban partial-birth abortion, ban all human cloning, and prevent rationing
of life-saving medical care. In urging
Congress to "end the practice of partial-birth abortion," the President was
pressing for congressional approval of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act,
sponsored by Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) and Senator Rick Santorum
(R-Pa.). The bill was twice vetoed by former President Bill Clinton, and
still faces strong opposition from a minority of U.S. senators, including
presidential candidates John Kerry, John Edwards, and Joseph Lieberman.
[Further information on the partial-birth abortion issue is posted here:
http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/index.html ] President
Bush said, "Because no human life should be started or ended as the object
of an experiment, I ask you to set a high standard for humanity and pass a
law against all human cloning." This was a clear call for congressional
approval of the legislation sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Ks.) and
by Congressmen Dave Weldon (R-Fl.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mi.), which would
prohibit all human cloning, including the cloning of human embryos for
research purposes. [Further information on the human cloning issue is
posted here:
http://www.nrlc.org/killing_embryos/index.html ] NRLC also
applauds President Bush's rejection of the rationing of lifesaving medical
care, a form of involuntary euthanasia. The President also expressed
support for the right of older Americans to choose their own doctors. By a
62%-34% margin, Americans agree with National Right to Life that Medicare
should allow older people to add their own money to government Medicare
payments in order to get unrationed, unmanaged health insurance, according
to a nationwide Wirthlin poll taken in December. The pro-life movement will
be deeply involved in the debate over Medicare restructuring. National Right to Life is the nation's largest pro-life group with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide. National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect those threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. |