ATLANTA — Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes outlined a political agenda to the Christian Coalition of Georgia on Saturday that he said would renew faith and redeem the moral principles of the nation.

The key lies in life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, in that order, he said.

Forbes made several references to abortion, telling about 300 supporters at Mount Vernon Baptist Church his first act as president would be to sign a law banning a form of late-term abortion.

"Life begins at conception and should end only in natural death," he said.

At another point, the self-financed conservative said: "When I'm in the oval office, if a judge is appointed for life, they must respect the sanctity of life."

It was Forbes' plan to reduce taxes that drew the loudest applause.

"Everything you do is taxed," he said. "It's high time we say push that line back and keep what you created in the first place."

Under his 17 percent flat-tax proposal, a family of four would pay no taxes on the first $36,000 of income. Forbes' platform also includes measures that would allow parents to decide where to send their children to school, fund schools through bloc grants and move away from Social Security to individual retirement accounts.