The over 100,000 pro-life Americans who participated in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., which has been spearheaded by pro-life leader Nellie Gray for all these years, were pleased to receive a message from the White House which was delivered by Congressman Chris Smith. In the statement by President Bush, he referred to the “infinite value of every life.”

The President expressed his appreciation for the marchers’ message and work and commended them for making “our society more compassionate and welcoming.” He said: “We share a great goal: to work toward a day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law,” and “said that our shared goal “leads us onward: to build a culture of life, affirming that every person, at every stage and season of life, is created equal in God’s image.”

President Bush’s message on the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade was warmly received by pro-lifers across America. We hope and pray that his desire for the protection of unborn babies will not be restricted to those who are “welcomed in life” alone. After all, it is those babies who are not welcome, and those babies who live not in a womb, but in a petri dish or a liquid nitrogen tank, (babies conceived through in-vitro fertilization and abandoned by their parents) who are at risk of being killed, either by abortion or by scientists in a research laboratory.

Bush Restores “Mexico City” Policy 
One of his first acts as President, was the issuance of an Executive Order requiring non-governmental organizations to agree to restrictions on their abortion activities abroad as a condition of receiving federal funds. The rules require that “family planning” agencies cannot perform abortions, promote abortion as a method of family planning or lobby foreign governments to change their laws against abortion. The policy was instituted first by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, but it was suspended by Bill Clinton three days after he was inaugurated, on January 22, 1993. “It is my conviction that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for abortions or advocate or actively promote abortions, either here or abroad,” Mr. Bush said, in the order he signed on his first day in office.

In addition, there are positive indications that President Bush wants his new Secretary of Health and Human Services, former Governor of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson, to take a look at the FDA’s approval of the abortion-drug, RU-486. When asked by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) during his confirmation hearing whether he intends to rescind its approval, Thompson replied that he wouldn’t roll back approval on anything unless it is shown to be unsafe.

Searle, the manufacturer of Cytotec (misoprostol), which must be administered along with RU-486 (mifepristone), has already declared that the drug is unsafe for pregnant women and should be used only for its intended purpose, the treatment of gastric ulcers. A letter to health care practitioners dated August 23, 2000, signed by Searle Medical Director Michael Cullen, M.D., stated: “Cytotec is not approved for the induction of labor or abortion. Serious adverse events reported following off-label use of Cytotec in pregnant women include maternal or fetal death; uterine hyperstimulation; rupture or perforation requiring uterine surgical repair; hysterectomy; amniotic fluid embolism; severe vaginal bleeding, retained placenta, shock, fetal bradycardia and pelvic pain.”

Pro-life citizens should encourage Secretary Thompson to direct the FDA commissioner to repeal the approval of RU-486 at the earliest opportunity.

Secretary Tommy Thompson-Department of HHS- 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20201 - Phone: 202/690-7000