Thursday, January 22, 2009

Barack Obama Postpones Decision to Send Tax Dollars Overseas for Abortion

From http://lifenews.com/nat4771.html

Barack Obama Postpones Decision to Send Tax Dollars Overseas for Abortion

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 22, 2009

addthis_pub = 'sertelt';

Email RSS Print
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a move to downplay his pro-abortion agenda, President Barack Obama has decided to wait a little longer to reverse a Bush policy preventing taxpayer funding of abortions overseas. The Mexico City Policy prevents sending public funds to groups that perform or promote abortions in other countries.
The new president could either issue an order tomorrow or in the near future to reverse the policy or allow Congress to do it.
Obama was expected to overturn the pro-life policy on his first or second full days in office and to possibly do so today, on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.
However, a CBN News report indicates Obama will not overturn the policy on a day that pro-life advocates mourn the Supreme Court allowing virtually unlimited abortions.

While Obama is still expected to fund foreign abortions at some point, CBN News indicates Obama is attempting to camouflage his pro-abortion agenda by issuing a statement calling for efforts to reduce abortions.
"It is unclear whether Obama intends to reverse the Mexico City Policy at some point in the future but this reliable source tells me that this move signals that Obama will stress the need for reducing abortions in this country rather than focus on the divisive tit for tat policy reversals of the past," writes David Brody a senior correspondent for the network.
The move may infuriate pro-abortion groups, which campaigned relentlessly for Obama and expected him to immediately reverse the policy upon taking over the White House.
At the same time, Obama could approach overturning the Mexico City Policy in the same manner as he is apparently approaching reversing Bush's limits on funding embryonic stem cell research.

Obama appears to want Congress to do the heavy lifting to pass legislation reversing the protections and he can both get credit for signing the bill and deflect criticism by not becoming the sole decision-maker changing the rules.
Such a move would also make it much tougher for pro-life advocates to undo the decision -- and Obama could also rely on Congress to reverse the Mexico City Policy.
In September, 2007, Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced an amendment to a spending bill that would have reversed the policy and the Senate approved it by a 53-41 percentage point margin.
The move didn't take effect only because President Bush threatened to veto any spending bill that removed the Mexico City Policy -- something Obama would unlikely do.

Buzz up!

No comments: