After having been in office for a mere four days, President Barack Obama ordered the closing of detainee camp Guantanamo Bay within a year, met with military leaders to discuss a drawdown in Iraq and, as of last Friday, lifted a ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information.

AP Photo/The Times Argus, Tim Calabro Crowds march from City Hall in Montpelier, Vt., to the State House Jan. 17 to protest President Barack Obama's policy on abortion. Braving single-digit temperatures and a political landscape chilly to their cause, abortion opponents rallied in Vermont’s capital vowing to continue their fight.

Under President George W. Bush, the policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion as a family planning method.

 

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