A ban on federal funds for organizations that perform or promote abortions overseas was reinstated by President Donald Trump on Jan. 23.
Known as the Mexico City Policy, the order was first implemented by then-president Ronald Reagan at a 1984 conference in Mexico City. It prohibits international family planning organizations from receiving federal funds unless they agree not to perform or counsel for abortions or lobby in order to liberalize the pro-life policies of foreign governments.
The Mexico City Policy has been on a political seesaw for more than three decades. After Reagan’s action, it remained in force until 1993 when then-president Bill Clinton rescinded it. Former president George W. Bush reinstated it eight years later, only to see it overturned by former president Barack Obama three days after he was inaugurated in 2009. Trump reinstated the ban on his third day in office. (BP)
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