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Obama Reverses Global Gag Rule
Barack Obama's doing a lot of a good in his first days in office, and this is no different:
President Obama signed an executive order Friday striking down a rule prohibiting U.S. money from funding international family-planning groups that promote abortion or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion services.
The order comes the day after the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the United States.
It reverses the "Mexico City policy," initiated by President Reagan in 1984, canceled by President Clinton and reinstated by President George W. Bush in 2001.
The policy, referred to by critics as "the global gag rule," was initially announced at a population conference in Mexico City.
This kind of stuff makes me optimistic ... hesitantly optimistic ... but optimistic nonetheless.
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