The Ronald Reagan Building
Washington, D.C.
November 5, 2003
1:40 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I'm pleased that all of you have joined us as the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 becomes the law of the land. (Applause.) For years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth, while the law looked the other way. Today, at last, the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for coming. Many of you have worked long and hard to see this bill come to fruition, and we thank you for your efforts.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: I see some members of my Cabinet have come. I appreciate the good work of the Attorney General, John Ashcroft. (Applause.) Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, is here. Thank you, Tommy. (Applause.) There are a lot of members of the Senate and House here today, I want to thank you all for passing this important legislation. I'm glad you're here. (Applause.)
The primary Senate sponsor is with us, Senator Rick Santorum. (Applause.) Senator Orrin Hatch and Senator Mike DeWine helped, as well, in the Senate. Thank you all very much. (Applause.) Steve Chabot was the primary House sponsor, and Steve is with us. Thanks for coming, Steve. (Applause.) I'm thankful that our Speaker is with us today. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate you coming. (Applause.) The Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, as well. Thank you for coming, Tom. (Applause.)
I'd like to mention three other members of the House. Henry Hyde is with us today. Mr. Chairman, we appreciate you coming. (Applause.) Jim Oberstar is with us. Jim, thank you for being here, sir, I appreciate you coming. (Applause.) Bart Stupak, from Michigan, is with us, as well. Thanks for coming, Bart, glad you're here. (Applause.)
I appreciate His Eminence, Cardinal Egan, is with us today. Thank you very much, sir. (Applause.)
In passing this legislation, members of the House and Senate made a studied decision based upon compelling evidence. The best case against partial birth abortion is a simple description of what happens and to whom it happens. It involves the partial delivery of a live boy or girl, and a sudden, violent end of that life. Our nation owes its children a different and better welcome. (Applause.) The bill I am about to sign protecting innocent new life from this practice reflects the compassion and humanity of America.
In the course of the congressional debate, the facts became clear. Each year, thousands of partial birth abortions are committed. As Doctor C. Everett Koop, the pediatrician and former Surgeon General has pointed out, the majority of partial birth abortions are not required by medical emergency. As Congress has found, the practice is widely regarded within the medical profession as unnecessary, not only cruel to the child, but harmful to the mother, and a violation of medical ethics. (Applause.)
The facts about partial birth abortion are troubling and tragic, and no lawyer's brief can make them seem otherwise. (Applause.) By acting to prevent this practice, the elected branches of our government have affirmed a basic standard of humanity, the duty of the strong to protect the weak. The wide agreement amongst men and women on this issue, regardless of political party, shows that bitterness in political debate can be overcome by compassion and the power of conscience. And the executive branch will vigorously defend this law against any who would try to overturn it in the courts. (Applause.)
America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness and for the unalienable right of life. And the most basic duty of government is to defend the life of the innocent. Every person, however frail or vulnerable, has a place and a purpose in this world. Every person has a special dignity. This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government, because it does not come from government, it comes from the Creator of life. (Applause.)
In the debate about the rights of the unborn, we are asked to broaden the circle of our moral concern. We're asked to live out our calling as Americans. We're asked to honor our own standards, announced on the day of our founding in the Declaration of Independence. We're asked by our convictions and tradition and compassion to build a culture of life, and make this a more just and welcoming society. And today, we welcome vulnerable children into the care and protection of Americans. (Applause.)
The late Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey once said that: when we look to the unborn child, the real issue is not when life begins, but when love begins. (Applause.) This is the generous and merciful spirit of our country at its best. This spirit is reflected in the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which I am now honored to sign into law. God bless. (Applause.)
(The bill is signed.) (Applause.) Thank you, all. (Applause.)
END 1:51 P.M. EST
Official New Jersey Right to Life Press Release 
NEW JERSEY RIGHT TO LIFE
113 NORTH AVENUE WEST
CRANFORD, NJ 07016
For Immediate Release
Contact Marie Tasy, Public & Legislative Affairs Director (732) 846-2000
www.njrtl.org
November 5, 2003--
New Jersey Right to Life Thanks President Bush for Signing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Into Law
NJRTL Officials Attend Bill Signing Ceremony in Washington, D.C.
November 5, 2003--
NJRTL President Traude Barbiero and Public & Legislative Affairs Director Marie Tasy, were among the invited guests who attended today's bill signing ceremony to witness President Bush signing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban into law.
New Jersey Right to Life, the state's largest pro-life organization thanked President Bush on behalf of the NJ Pro-Life Community for signing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban into law today. Marie Tasy, Public & Legislative Affairs Director for New Jersey Right to Life, said, "We are gratified to finally have a President who agrees with the majority of Americans that partial birth abortion is brutal, inhumane and should be banned. We applaud the President for signing this bill into law."
The bill signed by the President defines partial birth abortion as delivery of a fetus "until, in the case of a head first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of the breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus."
President Bush's signature on the bill is a validation of New Jersey Right to Life's hard fought battle to ban this heinous procedure, which is especially significant since NJ performs a disproportionate number of partial birth abortions. This fact was confirmed by the Bergen Record in a September 15, 1996 article, which reported that Metropolitan Medical Center in Englewood, NJ performs 1,500 partial birth abortions per year. "If you do the math, that's approximately 4 partial birth abortions per day," said Public & Legislative Affairs Director Marie Tasy. She pointed out that the doctors who perform them told the Bergen Record, that, "most are done on healthy mothers of healthy babies."
Tasy commenting on the premature lawsuits filed on Halloween by Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights said, "It's time these groups stopped masquerading as compassionate, pro-woman, mainstream advocates. What they're defending is merciless, anti-woman and beyond extreme," said Marie Tasy. "Partial birth abortion is never necessary to save a woman's life or preserve her health and is morally repugnant to the majority of citizens in NJ and across America who want it banned. It is only the most extreme pro-abortion element who believe partial birth abortions should remain legal, and thankfully, those people are a very small minority," said Tasy.
"No matter how many times these pro-abortion groups go running to a court of law to interfere with the will of the people, they cannot change the court of public opinion which is resoundingly in favor of outlawing partial birth abortion. Partial Birth Abortions will be banned in this country and in our state," said Marie Tasy. "It's only a matter of time."
New Jersey Right to Life is the State's Largest and Oldest Pro-Life Organization
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