The promises of our Declaration of Independence are not just for the strong, the independent or the healthy. There's quite a bit of harm that can be done to women's reproductive rights. He clearly is bending to the will of the far right on these issues. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer refused to speculate on the timing. It's an important issue.
Current law bans the use of U.S. funds for any abortions in foreign countries.
It went through several subsequent iterations as the Democratic president reached different compromises with congressional Republicans. U.S. funds will flow unrestricted to international family-planning groups on Feb. 15 unless the new president acts by executive order to impose abortion restrictions, as Bush has decided to do. With the Bush White House signaling a decision Monday, abortion opponents celebrated. The politically and emotionally charged issue of abortion promised to test Bush's ability to deliver on his oft-repeated promise to unite Democrats and Republicans. But while he may not himself engage in the sound and fury of the activists who back him, Bush has nominated a staunch abortion opponent for attorney general, former Sen. John Ashcroft, and signaled quick action to reverse Clinton policies supporting access to abortion.