The president also thanked the members of the Senate and the House for their work in creating the bill. He explained that the legislation was the result of a “a studied decision based upon compelling evidence.”
Bush referred to the testimony of former Surgeon General and pediatrician Dr. C. Everett Koop, who has said that the majority of partial-birth abortions in the U.S. “are not required by medical emergency.”
He also said that, through its research, Congress found the practice or partial-birth abortions to be widely regarded within the medical profession as “unnecessary, … cruel to the child, … harmful to the mother, and a violation of medical ethics.”
The president also quoted the late Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey, who once said: “When we look to the unborn child, the real issue is not when life begins, but when love begins.” The governor’s presidential candidacy for the Democratic Party had been blocked because of his pro-life stand.
“[Casey’s] is the generous and merciful spirit of our country at its best,” and it is reflected in the new law, said Bush.
Outside the signing ceremony in Washington, the National Organization for Women held protest. About 50 activists chanted and held signs that read "Keep Abortion Legal".
Less than an hour after Bush signed the bill, a federal judge in Nebraska, District Judge Richard Kopf, issued a limited temporary restraining order against it. Hearings were also held in San Francisco and New York City yesterday on similar challenges. The three court acts have been requested by pro-abortion organizations.
Aware of the impending legal obstacles, Bush pledged at the signing that "the executive branch will vigorously defend this law against any who would try to overturn it in the courts." His comment was received with a standing ovation and the longest round of applause during his remarks.