US President George W. Bush today signed a ban on so-called partial birth abortion and vowed to "vigorously defend" it in court, handing a victory to his anti-abortion and Christian right supporters in the run-up to the 2004 election.
Mr Bush cast the ban as the government coming to the "defence of the innocent child" from what he denounced as "a terrible form of violence."
But abortion-rights groups were quickly in court to try to block the ban, which they warned would sacrifice women's health and rights for Mr Bush's political gain.
The president declared, "The executive branch will vigorously defend this law against any who would try to challenge it in the courts."
Mr Bush took the unusual step of signing the ban into law at a building named after Mr Ronald Reagan, the former Republican president who opposed abortion, instead of at the White House.
Outside, dozens of protesters denounced him with signs that read: "Keep abortion legal" and "We trust our doctors more than we trust Bush." The American Civil Liberties Union called it "a deceptive and dangerous" measure.
Doctor-turned-Democratic presidential candidate Mr Howard Dean called it a "dark day for American women" and warned the ban would "chill the practice of medicine and endanger the health of countless women."
White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan said the ban was a "practical" step to reduce US abortions. If it withstands the legal challenges, the "partial birth" abortion ban would constitute the first federal limit on a type of abortion since the 1973 Roe versus Wade Supreme Court ruling backing abortion rights.