President Bush Signs Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 The Ronald Reagan Building Washington, D.C.
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.
etc. etc.
OK, so I am aware of this. At what point in pregnancy does it become illegal to perform an abortion? And is based on the age of the 'fetus' from conception, developmental stage of the fetus, or some other factor? What are the penalties for, say, aborting a 8 9/10 month old fetus (from date of conception) by means other than a 'partial birth' abortion procedure?