The editors of Christianity Today recently ranked our selections for the leading priorities for the incoming Bush administration and the new Congress. Hands down, prolife initiatives topped our list. The prolife movement holds out hope for passage of a federal ban on partial-birth abortion and the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act. These two measures will be important steps toward restoring our national commitment to unborn human life. A federal ban on partial-birth abortion would end the gruesome practice of ending a third-trimester pregnancy by removing a fetus feet-first and then destroying the skull cavity. The born-alive bill would provide more humane care for mortally ill newborns and babies who survive a botched abortion.
What about overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that granted women the right to abortion? Though the First Lady doesn’t think it should be overturned, President Bush is not ruling out support for a legal challenge to Roe. “We’ll just have to see,” he told reporters. Bush appropriately makes the point that it’s premature to comment fully on overturning Roe since there is no case before the high court that has the potential to undo this historic wrong.
Even if overturning Roe is not in the near future, prolife Christians must not sit on their hands. Vicki Thorn, founder and director of Milwaukee’s Project Rachel, has worked in the prolife movement for 30 years. For the last 14 years, she has focused her efforts on post-abortion trauma counseling, which is now a nationwide movement. While she favors prolife legislation, Thorn told Catholic News Service, “It’s not about changing the law. It’s about changing the country.”
Profound change in American culture is already underway. Christians must do their part to steer the culture even more in a direction that fully values all human life. President Bush and members of Congress who support the prolife cause should persevere in making a compelling and public case for new prolife legislation. If our values change, so will our public laws.
Other important concerns
Here are the five other key areas CT editors think worthy of focus for the President and Congress:Education reform: In many inner cities, 68 percent of low-income 4th-graders cannot read at a basic level, despite $120 billion in federal spending since 1965 to improve the educational achievements of poor children, according to the Heritage Foundation. Failing schools must be fixed or replaced by private or semi-public alternatives. Well-designed school-choice programs should be expanded without delay, or another generation of undereducated, poor kids will grow up with limited access to opportunity.
Religious freedom: A 2000 survey by the Center for Religious Freedom indicates that 75 percent of the world (more than 4 billion people) does not enjoy broad religious freedom. Conditions for Christians and other minority faiths in China, India, and Sudan have grown worse during the past five years. Both Congress and the Bush administration must keep the public’s attention on widely violated international standards as well as enforce provisions in the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, even if it becomes necessary to restrict trade.
Faith-based initiatives: In Norfolk, Virginia, the Department of Social Services (DSS) awarded a $45,000 contract in 1998 to the Norfolk Interfaith Partnership to provide welfare-to-work mentoring services. Under this program, permitted by the 1996 welfare reform law, volunteer mentors (recruited from Norfolk churches) meet regularly with DSS clients for their first six months in a new job. The vision for such programs is to move needy individuals from dependence to interdependence within their communities. President Bush’s creation of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in late January is a praiseworthy first step in helping other effective faith-based groups to blossom.
Racial tensions: In separate cases in January, two white supremacists pleaded guilty to fomenting racial hatred. One was caught in a cross-burning incident in South Carolina. The other was convicted of shooting at a Jewish center near Los Angeles.
African Americans, only 8 percent of whom voted for Bush, are looking for clear signs that the new president will help them in their quest for racial justice and equality. President Bush has made an admirable beginning with appointment of African Americans to key posts. The president must continue to make such key political appointments as well as build stronger relationships with African-American leaders.
The marriage tax: Most married couples pay more in federal income taxes than they would as singles. Efforts to end this so-called marriage tax have failed, but it’s time to try again. This tax policy has unintentionally created a disincentive for marriage. One legislative measure that has real merit would double the standard deduction for married couples and make other adjustments in tax brackets to minimize the marriage tax.
To be sure, other items demand attention, but success in these six areas would make for an effective and fresh start for Congress and the President.
Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere
Read more about Bush’s initiatives in “The Bush Agenda | Will the White House be user-friendly for religious organizations?”Bush talked to Christianity Today about education and faith-based initiatives in 1999’s ” Bush’s Faith-Based Plans | Bush argues that private religious organizations can partner successfully with government.”
See Christianity Today‘s persecution area to better understand why religious freedom must be emphasized worldwide.
Churches, as well as governments, need to prioritize racial reconciliation this CT cover story from last year says.
Other Christianity Today stories on the president include:
Bush’s Call to Prayer | After Al Gore’s concession, evangelical leaders unify around faith-based initiatives, morality, and prayer as the incoming Bush administration gears up. (Dec. 14, 2000)
Anniversary of Church Shootings Serves as Reminder for Bush | Presidential candidate promises to battle religious bigotry in wake of Texas tragedy. (Sept. 15, 2000)
A Presidential Hopeful’s Progress | The spiritual journey of George W. Bush starts in hardscrabble west Texas. Will the White House be his next stop? (Sept. 5, 2000)
Bush and Gore Size Up Prolife Running Mates | Will abortion stances play an influential role in Vice Presidential selection? (July 17, 2000)
Might for Right? | As presidential primaries get under way, Christian conservatives aim to win. (Feb. 3, 2000)
God Bless America’s Candidates | What the religious and mainstream presses are saying about religion on the campaign trail and other issues. (Dec. 10, 1999)
