Signing of partial-birth abortion ban called 'vital step' for nation

Published: 2003-11-05

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In what a U.S. archbishop called "a vital step in the right direction for our nation," President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act into law Nov. 5 at a Washington ceremony attended by many Catholic leaders. "The facts about partial-birth abortion are troubling and tragic, and no lawyer's brief can make them seem otherwise," Bush said. "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 president said a partial-birth abortion "involves the partial delivery of a live boy or girl, and a sudden, violent end to that life." He added, "Our nation owes its children a different and better welcome." Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said the signing "marks the first time in three decades that our nation has placed any restriction on an abortion procedure." The archbishop added in a Nov. 5 statement, "We commend the president for his action, and we pledge our prayers and support to see that this brutal procedure remains prohibited by law and intolerable to the American people."

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