Charisma Magazine

Thirty-six years after the 1973 landmark case made abortion-on-demand legal, many Christians worry President Barack Obama will turn back the clock on years of progress made by the pro-life movement.

Jan. 22, 2009 — As tens of thousands of Americans descended on the National Mall for today’s March for Life, the 35^th annual protest of the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion decision, pro-life groups expressed concern that President Barack Obama will use his power to strengthen the abortion industry worldwide.

“Today is the 36^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and abortions here in the U.S. are at their lowest number in years,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List). “So it’s unfortunate that President Obama is poised to make subsidizing abortion abroad one of his first priorities. I strongly urge President Obama to reconsider his decision to bypass the will of American taxpayers and promote the radical agenda of the abortion lobby.”

Jan. 23, 2009 — The day after the 36^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Barack Obama signed an executive order repealing the so-called Mexico City Policy, a regulation from the Reagan-era that prohibited U.S. funds from going to organizations that promote or perform abortions abroad.

Known by critics as the “global gag rule,” the Mexico City Policy bans U.S.-funded organizations from promoting abortion overseas. Depending on his view on abortion, nearly every president has either upheld or repealed the policy since Ronald Reagan established it in 1984.