Sarah Palin Delivers Policy Speech Outlining Support for Special Needs Kids

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 26, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Sarah Palin Delivers Policy Speech Outlining Support for Special Needs Kids

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 26
, 2008

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Sarah Palin would handle a variety of political issues if she transitions from Alaska governor to Vice President next year. In a major policy speech on Friday, the pro-life governor said none would hit as close to home as her advocacy for children with special needs.

In her remarks, Governor Palin advocated school choice opportunities for children with special needs, fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and lowering taxes on special needs trusts, which families set up to cover long term care needs for disabled children.

"John McCain and I have talked about the missions he’d like me to focus on should I become vice president," Palin said. "But there is another mission that’s especially close to my heart, and that is to help families of children with special needs."

In the address, delivered in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Palin said she would fight for more choices for parents, fully funding IDEA, and efforts to reform and refocus government to provide better help to such children.

Disabled children are close to the pro-life movement’s heart as well — as nearly 90 percent of children with Down syndrome and other conditions become victims of abortion.

Palin highlighted those attitudes towards disabled children that continue even after birth.

"Too often, they are made to feel that there is no place for them in the life of our country, that they don’t count or have nothing to contribute," she said. "This attitude is a grave disservice to these beautiful children, to their families, and to our country — and I will work to change it."

"And what’s been confirmed in me is every child has something to contribute to the world, if we give them that chance," she explained.

"You know that there are the world’s standards of perfection, and then there are God’s, and these are the final measure. Every child is beautiful before God, and dear to Him for their own sake. And the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are most vulnerable," she added.

‘As for our baby boy, Trig, for Todd and me he is only more precious because he is vulnerable," Palin said.

Palin said she gets a special encouragement from the children with special needs who come to her rallies and the parents who bring them.

The governor said she understands the struggles parents of special needs children face to get them appropriate education. She said she will help them open more doors for better education for their children in public schools.

"In a McCain-Palin administration, we will put the educational choices for special needs children in the right hands — their parents’," she said.

Palin promised school choice and more funding for public school programs.

Her comments dew strong and positive responses from pro-life advocates — including Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of the Susan B. Anthony List.

“Very rarely does an issue in the public forum speak to the heart so poignantly as protecting children with special needs. Governor Sarah Palin offers compassion and concrete help to those of us hungry for information, support and solutions,” she told LifeNews.com.

“Why does Sarah have such a beautiful perspective? Because she sees the value, necessity, and joy inherent in every human life," Dannenfelser added.

Governor Sarah Palin has a six-month-old son, Trig, who has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome.

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