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January 23, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan praised President Donald Trump for banning U.S. funding of abortion and abortion lobbying in other countries.
In his first pro-life action, Trump signed an executive order Monday reinstating the Mexico City Policy.
“This is a welcome step toward restoring and enforcing important federal policies that respect the most fundamental human right — the right to life — as well as the long-standing, bipartisan consensus against forcing Americans to participate in the violent act of abortion,” Dolan said in a statement released later that day.
“We applaud President Trump’s action today to restore the Mexico City Policy,” stated Dolan, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
The Mexico City Policy bans funding to organizations such as International Planned Parenthood Federation that perform abortions or lobby for legalizing them in countries outside the United States.
Those foreign NGOs that “promote or perform abortions overseas” do so “often in violation of the host country's own laws) often in violation of the host country’s own law,” Dolan stated.
President Reagan introduced the policy at a 1984 UN conference in Mexico City.
Since then, Democratic President Bill Clinton rescinded it, Republican President George W. Bush reinstated it, and Democratic President Barack Obama reversed it.
Reinstating the Mexico City Policy shows the American people and “people of the world … what a value we place on life,” and is consistent with Trump, who campaigned as a “pro-life president,” Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said at a Monday press conference.
A Marist Poll released January 23 showed 83 percent of Americans “support policies like the Mexico City Policy. This includes 73 percent of respondents who identify as ‘pro-choice,’” according to the USCCB press statement.