Bishop, Members of the Diocese of Utopia,

¶ … Bishop, Members of the Diocese of Utopia, Ladies and Gentlemen!

It's an honor and privilege to me having the opportunity to speak before this distinguished audience. It's an extreme privilege to have you, Dear Bishop, as a private person attending this event. I think that all of us in this room extremely appreciate this! I am here to speak to you not only as a female candidate for the office of the President of the United States, but also as a private person, e.g., a Roman Catholic, a wife and a mother of three children. When I prepared this speech, I asked myself, what is it that might get your attention not only during this short meeting but might also support my candidature for the U.S. presidency during the upcoming elections? Is it my broad view of foreign or domestic politics, my plan of how to help this country recover from economic crisis? Is it my vision of how to save the environment for our children? I came up with quite another topic. This topic seems to be neglected these days although it is of equal vital importance to us in the purest literal sense as all other topics that may occupy or minds. It is a topic that I think touches -- or at least should touch - all of us, whether we are members of the Catholic Church, members of any other denomination, agnostics or even atheists. This topic is: "Abortion." As a candidate for presidency of this great country, as a patriot, as a private person, a wife and a mother of three, it is my deepest conviction that life begins at conception. Yes, it is my firm belief! And the word "belief" in these days- unfortunately -- has it all in it: a good and a bad connotation. The word "belief" seems to define any opinion on "abortion" as a matter of "faith." Dear Bishop, dear Ladies and Gentlemen, we all know that you have always been a strong opponent of the so called "right of abortion." This is the traditional viewpoint of the Catholic Church. But it is not only the Catholic Church's doctrine as an institution. It is not only your opinion in your function of one of the highest representatives of the Catholic Church, but also your opinion as a private person, as a member of our society. As might be known to all of you, in my former political function as the Governor of the State of Utopia, I was the centre point of severe attacks from constituents and non-constituents because I shared your opinion. Proponents of a "right to abortion" were unified by the notion that to abort or not abort a child is a woman's and her doctor's very own decision. Any political interference on the issue must not take place. I was also bashed as private person and even found my family exposed to name-calling for that reason. People who had serious arguments against my viewpoint on the issue of abortion most commonly referred to the principle of "separation of church and state." I respect this position. I fully agree that matters of religious faith should not be imposed on others by law. As we all know, the "separation of church and state," attributed to Thomas Jefferson and others, and since quoted by the Supreme Court of the United States, expresses one of the most fundamental statements to be found in our Constitution. The founding fathers found