President Obama has continued rolling back his predecessor’s conservative policies, by proposing to lift restrictions on abortion. The President will sign an order allowing government funding for groups which provide abortion services or counselling outside the United States.

His announcement comes on the 36th anniversary of a landmark ruling in US law. In January 1973, Roe vs Wade guaranteed the private life of Americans, without government interference, a right enshrined in the Constitution.The Supreme Court said that included a woman’s right to abortion. It has been a divisive issue in America. Banning abortion was the centrepiece of President Reagan’s conservative social policies; President Clinton rescinded the law in 1993, but it returned under President Bush. Critics say restrictions have withheld funds from family planning and basic health clinics around the world, leading to back-street abortions and even deaths.More about: Barack Obama, USA

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