Obama reverses Bush abortion-funds policy

"I am not against abortion under certain conditions, but I don't think tax payers should support it, especially when Americans can't get health care. And why is international brought in to it, this is American tax payers paying for it." ( 4mainstreet )

By MATTHEW LEE and LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday struck down the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information — an inflammatory policy that has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter-century.

Obama's move, the latest in an aggressive first week reversing contentious Bush policies, was warmly welcomed by liberal groups and denounced by abortion rights foes.

The ban has been a political football between Democratic and Republican administrations since GOP President Ronald Reagan first adopted it 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

FULL STORY