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["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7847651.stm
Page last updated at 00:30 GMT, Saturday, 24 January 2009
Obama lifts ban on abortion funds

A pro-choice spokesperson responds to the decision

US President Barack Obama has lifted a ban on providing federal funding to foreign family planning organisations that 
facilitate abortions.

The US is one of the biggest supporters of family planning programmes globally, but former president George W Bush 
blocked funds for abortion services.

Powerful anti-abortion groups in the US have criticised the lifting of the 
ban.

But aid agencies welcomed the move, saying it would promote women's health, 
especially in developing countries.

A White House spokesman said Mr Obama signed the executive order without asking for coverage by the media late on Friday 
afternoon.

The issue of abortion services remains controversial in the US, pitting pro-life conservative groups against more 
liberal, pro-choice Americans who back a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.

The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says this may be why President Obama 
signed the order with so little fanfare.

Highly contentious

Organisations that had pressed Mr Obama to make the abortion-ban change were 
jubilant.

        
Today [President Obama] is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method 
of population control
Douglas Johnson
National Right to Life Committee

Enormous implications

They called the funding ban the "gag rule" because it cuts funds to groups that advocate or lobby for the lifting of 
abortion restrictions.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America hailed the president for "lifting the stranglehold on women's health across 
the globe with the stroke of a pen."

"No longer will health care providers be forced to choose between receiving family planning funding and restricting the 
health care services they provide to women," the organization said in a statement.

But anti-abortion groups were quick to criticise the reversal of the funding 
ban.

"President Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support policies to reduce abortions, but today he 
is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," 
said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.

A 1973 decision by the US Supreme Court legalised abortion.

A Gallup poll conducted last year showed that 54% of Americans think abortion should be allowed under certain 
circumstances, 28% believe it should be legal under any circumstances, while 17% back a total ban.

See-saw issue

The policy has become a see-saw issue between Republican and Democratic 
administrations.

HAVE YOUR SAY

    I am personally opposed to abortion. However, as a US citizen, I would rather see uncensored information available 
to all

Jim Nordblom, Mapleton, USA
Send us your comments

Former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, repealed the policy when he took office in 1993 and George W Bush reinstated 
it in 2001.

The ruling is also known as the Mexico City Policy, because it was first introduced at a UN conference there in 1984 by 
former Republican President Ronald Reagan.

In a move related to the lifting of the abortion rule, Mr Obama is also expected to restore funding to the UN Population 
Fund (UNFPA) in the next budget, the AP news agency reported.

The Bush administration contended that the fund's work in China supported a Chinese family planning policy of coercive 
abortion and involuntary sterilisation, claims the UNFPA has vehemently denied.

In a separate move earlier on Friday, US regulators cleared the way for the world's first study on human embryonic stem 
cell therapy.

While the decision of the US Food and Drug Administration is independent of White House control, Mr Obama is widely 
expected to adopt a more pragmatic and science-oriented approach to stem cell research.