Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 23, 1993 TAG: 9301230200
SECTION: NATL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
CLINTON LIFTS ABORTION BANS
With the stroke of a pen Friday, President Clinton marked the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion by dismantling a series of Reagan and Bush administration restrictions, only hours after thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators rallied across the street from the White House."Our vision should be of an America where abortion is safe and legal but rare," Clinton said as he fulfilled a campaign promise to abortion rights supporters and medical research organizations. By executive order, Clinton:
Ended a five-year ban on fetal tissue research, which scientists believe holds the possibility of benefiting patients with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Huntington's disease, spinal cord injuries and other conditions.
Overturned the so-called "gag rule" that restricted abortion counseling at 4,000 federally funded family planning clinics nationwide.
Acted to revoke prohibitions on the importation of RU 486 - known as the French "abortion pill" - for personal use, if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determines that there is no justification for the prohibitions.
Allowed abortions at U.S. military hospitals overseas, if they are paid for privately.
Reversed a 1984 order, known as the "Mexico City policy," which prevented the United States from providing aid to foreign organizations that perform or promote abortion.
Abortion rights advocates said Clinton's actions in support of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling were historic.
"In one day, no president has ever done more to affirm the right of women to make personal reproductive choices," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the author of legislation, vetoed last year by then-President Bush, that would have overturned the fetal tissue research ban.
U.S. law prohibits the direct use of federal funds for abortion procedures, except to save the life of a woman. Clinton's orders apparently did not violate those statutes, although they loosened previous interpretations of them.
His actions came as abortion opponents staged their annual march to mark the anniversary of the landmark Roe vs. Wade case that established abortion as a right, one that is exercised by an estimated 1.6 million U.S. women a year.
Police estimated that 75,000 people, 5,000 more than last year, gathered for a pre-march rally across the street from the South Lawn of the White House. From there, they marched to the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill.
In years past, Bush spoke to the group via an electronic hookup. This time, there was no encouragement from the White House.
For Marty Pressau, that was reason enough to stand on the muddy Ellipse, holding a placard displaying a graphic color photograph of a dismembered fetus. It was the first time the 35-year-old bank auditor from Pittsburgh had joined the national march in Washington. "People are angry, very angry," he said.