President Bill Clinton Rescinds Anti-Abortion “Mexico City Policy”
President Bill Clinton on this day rescinded the so-called “Mexico City Policy,” first instituted by President Ronald Reagan on August 8, 1984, which forbade international non-profit organizations receiving United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds from providing either devices related to, or information about, abortion.
The requirement applied even to organizations involved in abortion-related activities supported by non-governmental funds.
President George W. Bush reinstated the policy in January 2001 and President Barack Obama again rescinded it in 2009, on January 23rd.
Learn more: http://www.genderhealth.org/the_issues/us_foreign_policy/global_gag_rule
Learn about the impact of this policy: http://www.ipas.org/~/media/Files/Ipas%20Publications/MythsGlobalGagRule.ashx
Learn more at a timeline of USAID family planning services: http://www.psi.org/impact-magazine/2011/05/usaid-family-planning-program-timeline-1965-present
For a great perspective on the “long Sixties:” Tom Hayden, The Long Sixties: From 1960 to Barack Obama (2009)