Bush follow-through needed

This week, as those activists returned to the nation's capital, President George W. Bush made an auspicious start to his four years in office by sending a warm greeting to them and then taking a concrete action on behalf of life (see pages 9 and 11). We hope he will continue to build on that beginning.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Bush quoted Mother Teresa about doing "small things with great love," a phrase that describes those pro-lifers who devote themselves to protecting the unborn, supporting women with problem pregnancies, and nurturing babies in need of material and emotional sustenance. Once a year, they do a large thing by travelling to Washington to march in the wintry cold so that America does not forget what happened on Jan. 22, 1973, when the Supreme Court voted to legalize abortion nationwide through all nine months of gestation. That ruling has led to the deaths of 40 million humans.

For the eight years of the Clinton Administration, the marchers braved more than cold winds; they also set their faces against that president's constant anti-life actions, including twice vetoing legislation to outlaw partial-birth abortions. This week, the pro-lifers heard from the new chief executive, who spoke of "the infinite value of every life....We share a great goal: to work toward a day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law....The 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."

The President then backed up his encouraging words by reinstating the Mexico City policy that blocks U.S. funds from groups that promote abortion overseas. There is more we expect Mr. Bush to do regarding abortion. We trust, for example, that he will soon sign legislation ending partial-birth abortion.

But there is even more to be done. In using the phrase "a culture of life," President Bush quoted Pope John Paul II, whose respect for life extends beyond the unborn. The President should continue building toward such a culture by turning aside from his support for capital punishment and commuting the sentences of any federal inmates who face the death penalty. His witness in this regard, after so many executions during his time as governor of Texas, would speak forcefully against the culture of death.

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