Bush signs legislation protecting fetuses

GREEN TREE, Pa. – President Bush signed a bill Monday that he called a step toward further restrictions on abortion, reopening a debate that has been largely quiet since his inauguration.

“Today, through sonograms and other technology, we can see clearly that unborn children are members of the human family,” Bush told an audience that included Catholic leaders. “They reflect our image, and they are created in God’s own image.”

After a quick trip to see the nine miners who were trapped for 77 damp and dark hours, Bush went to a Pittsburgh hotel where he raised $1 million for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Fisher and signed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which was championed by abortion opponents.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., requires that if a fetus survives an abortion procedure, it must be considered a person under federal law.