President Obama will Repeal the Global Gag Rule
By Loryn Wilson - Jan 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 pmAccording to The Wall Street Journal, President Obama will repeal the so-called global gag rule, which outlawed U.S. funding from going to NGOs that perform abortion or abortion counseling:
President Barack Obama will issue an order restoring U.S. funding for international family-planning groups involved with abortion. But he chose not to do so on Thursday, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
President Obama was breaking with the tradition set by his recent predecessors to make an abortion-related order on the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling, another example of his attempt to support liberal policies he believes in while trying to defuse emotional political debates.
That the repeal of the global gag rule did not happen on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade isn’t the most important part of this story, although it appears in the first paragraph. His reasons are fair, I believe:
But he chose not to move on Thursday, as tens of thousands of abortion opponents marched in Washington. He issued a statement that both affirmed his support for Roe — and his determination to reduce the need for abortions. “While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make,” the president said in a statement. “To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services,” he said.
While it would have been very symbolic for the overturning of the gag rule to have happened on the anniversary of Roe V. Wade, I can understand why Obama chose to wait. The idea of “reaching across the aisle” and being respectful of pro-life protesters who support the rule is still important.
Secondly, it is not necessarily when the global gag rule is overturned, but that it will be overturned which makes the difference. With that said, I sincerely hope the law is overturned sooner rather than later.
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