WASHINGTON -- Rep. Mark Siljander, R-Mich., claiming private backing from the White House, joined several anti-abortion leaders Friday in urging passage of a resolution to declare 1982 the Year of the Unborn Child.
Virginia Evers of Taylor, Ariz., who originated the proposal, said it had the support of nearly 50 individuals and organizations opposed to abortion.
'We must present a united front on the single issue of the protection of the unborn,' she said. 'We are all human beings, children of God, from the moment of conception.'
The resolution quotes President Reagan's statement that the estimated 1.5 million abortions performed in America annually are 'a great moral evil and assault on the sacredness of human life.'
It calls on the American people to observe the year 'by seriously considering the intrinsic beauty, worth and sanctity of developing human life and to celebrate with appropriate ceremonies, activities and programs.'
Siljander, a conservative freshman legislator, said he had 'continuous support and words of encouragement' from the administration. His aide, Gary Bergel, said 'privately there is endorsement' from the White House.
Siljander said the resolution 'gives the president the opportunity to stand up and be counted and show the country that he is supportive and behind the issue he claimed during the campaign.'
Noting that Reagan has asked 'the pro-lifers to get their act together' before he supports specific anti-abortion legisation, Siljander said the odds are 'fairly good, to some degree' the House will pass the resolution.
Bergel said one-third of all American pregnancies now end in abortion.
'No one in their right mind have ever said that when a human egg and a human sperm come together that it produces a rat or cat or a plow or a dish, that when we abort or miscarry 17 days after fertilization that that's turnip juice being spilled out -- that's human blood,' said Bergel.
Bergel also likened abortion to genocide and said it is draining the 'national pool of genius.'
'We white folks know we are losing power,' Bergel said. 'Genocide is wrapped up in abortion.'
Siljander acknowledged he supports the administration's proposed cuts in funding for women, infants and children, but speculated that Reagan and 'many other Republicans would be very supportive of programs to help infants and the new born, especially if our nation supports the sanctity of life.'
'As a taxpayer, I am more than willing to support with more of my tax dollars, wanting to help children and society, building up and developing the genius of society rather than depleting it,' Siljander said.
