President Bush Shows Strong Pro-Life Beliefs in Private Meetings
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 7, 2003
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Shortly before and after President Bush signed the ban on partial-birth abortions Wednesday, two groups of pro-life advocates met with him privately in the Oval Office. They tell of a man who strongly and openly supports the pro-life cause and does so because of a deeply felt Christian faith.
Chuck Colson, who founded a national prison ministry, met with President Bush before the bill signing event.
"We had a wonderful conversation, celebrating one of the most significant days of his presidency and a great day for all who believe in the sanctity of life," Colson said.
"This president has a deep concern for those in the margins of society," Colson explained. "[President Bush] talked freely about his faith and how committed he is to the cause of defending human life."
Rev. Jerry Falwell, a nationally known pastor, was part of the group that met with Bush afterwards.
"In this meeting, President Bush gallantly declared that his administration would put all of its resources behind the partial-birth abortion ban in the courtroom," Falwell said afterwards.
After some discussion and fellowship, Bush asked the group to join hands and pray "that God will bless our efforts to preserve life in our land."
"What an astounding moment this was for me personally," Falwell said. "Standing there in the Oval Office, I felt suddenly humbled to be in the presence of a man — our president — who takes his faith very seriously and who seeks the prayers of his friends as he leads our nation."
Following the prayer, Falwell told President Bush the people in the room represent about 200,000 pastors and 80 million Christians nationwide who consider him not only to be our president but also a man of God.
In response, Bush "humbly turned to me and replied, ‘I’ll try to live up to it.’"
Attending the meeting beforehand were Colson, Focus on the Family President Jim Dobson, former Christian Coalition President Don Hodel, homeschool advocate Mike Farris, and Tony Perkins, current Family Research Council President.
Attending the later meeting were Janet Parshall, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Dr. Jack Graham, former SBC President Dr. Adrian Rogers, American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, National Religious Broadcasters President Frank Wright, National Association of Evangelicals President Ted Haggard, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Dr. Richard Land, and Rev. Jerry Falwell.
