Washington D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) joined in the celebration today, as President Bush signed the partial-birth abortion ban.

“President Bush is signing the will of the people into law today,” said Sandy Rios, president of CWA, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization. “The American people refused to tolerate the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion, and today’s ceremony honors their efforts.”

In response to lawsuits pending against the legislation, Rios noted the American Medical Association has stated there is no reason why a partial-birth abortion is medically necessary. “This procedure endangers a woman’s health for the sake of an abortionist’s convenience,” said Rios. “There is no excuse for this disregard for a woman’s safety.”

Jan LaRue, CWA’s chief counsel said, “The abortion lobby couldn’t win in Congress, so they’re taking the case to court in hopes that an activist judge somewhere will overthrow the will of the people. If judges remain impartial and true to the Constitution, the ban will stand.”

CWA’s 500,000 grassroots members worked tirelessly over the last eight years to ensure the passage of a partial-birth abortion ban. Now their efforts will turn to other pieces of pro-life legislation that are building momentum in Congress.

“We saw a strong pro-life sentiment in voters in the 2002 election, so as we prepare for the 2004 election, I suspect wise politicians will want to give life issues their attention,” said Michael Schwartz, CWA’s vice president for government relations. “Our next goal is to pass Laci and Conner’s Law, to protect unborn victims of violence. We also want to see action from the administration on CWA’s citizen petition to overturn the FDA’s approval of RU-486, and to see quick implementation of the Global AIDS bill as soon as the funds have been appropriated to rescue the people from this deadly scourge."

Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.