Obama Ends “Gag” On Foreign Abortion Funding

This past Friday, one day after the 36th anniversary of the historic Roe V. Wade ruling, President Obama signed an order ending a gag on federal funding for foreign aid groups that condone abortion. Riotous clamoring from both pro-life and pro-choice groups ensued.

The gag order was first put in place in 1984 by President Reagan, and subsequent presidents whiffed it back and forth like a tether ball, alternately lifting or reinstating the ban depending on their party line. Bill Clinton was the last president to lift the ban, only to have it predictably reinstated by George W. Bush. But is the gag policy really as controversial as everyone’s making it out to be?

The ban simply prohibits the federal government from spending U.S. taxpayer money on any international family planning groups that condone, perform or educate about abortions. The lifting of the ban doesn’t specifically encourage abortion, it just allows for the possibility that federal aid might go to a group that does condone abortion. So both sides of the abortion argument (both of whom, it’s good to remember, ultimately want to prevent abortions) actually do have grounds for their opposing arguments.

The groups that were denied federal aid aren’t solely focused on abortion or abortion education- they’re generally family planning groups who teach contraceptive methods and often only deal with abortion tangentially, by mentioning it as an option. So pro-choice advocates can make the case that aid to these groups will actually create a lower demand for abortions, if people are taught how to effectively use contraception.

But pro-lifers are angry over the lifting of the ban, since it potentially allows for taxpayer’s money to be used to fund abortions. We can imagine it must be frustrating, trying to compete with the lure of donuts, and now federal funding. What next, pro-choicers, third-trimester-themed pony rides!? Well, at least pro-lifers have the Pope on their side, as Vatican officials denounced Obama as “arrogant, for thinking he can decide between life and death.”

With this executive order, Obama concluded week one of “making tough decisions and pissing people off.” Welcome to being the President, we hope you enjoy the next four years.

Obama ends ban on U.S. funds to aid abortions [IHT]

The Vatican Slams Obama Over Abortion [Time]