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As one of his first significant decisions as president, Barack Obama lifted what liberals describe as “The Global Gag Rule”—a policy banning taxpayer dollars for organizations abroad that promote abortion as part of their family planning efforts.
The core issue here isn’t free speech or free choice, as the left insists; it’s actually a question of federal spending priorities. At a time of pressing needs at home, why should taxpayers fund birth control programs for distant third world countries that include abortion? If private citizens wish to donate to these services, they are free to do so—and can even get a tax deduction for their contributions. But to use scarce taxpayer dollars to terminate pregnancies abroad is immoral in the eyes of many Americans, and should look wasteful and misguided in the eyes of all.
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