WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush on Monday appointed Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, a staunch pro-lifer, to head the platform committee for the Republican National Convention this summer.

    The pro-life plank of the party's policy platform has been in place since 1980 and was a cause of dissension in 1996 when pro-abortion Republicans wanted it removed or water down. The plank states the party principle and objective that all human life is sacred and abortion should be banned in all cases. Bush has said he opposed abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to life of the mother.

    Thompson, first elected governor in 1986, said he looked forward to "serving ... to articulate our party's most innovative ideas, the principles that bind us together and our vision for the future."