Obama’s Mexico City Policy decision most unpopular yet

Washington D.C., Feb 3, 2009 / 14:55 pm

A new survey reports that President Barack Obama’s decision to overturn the Mexico City Policy is the most unpopular decision of his presidency so far. The Jan. 23 policy change means that the U.S. government can fund international groups which perform or promote abortions.

A Jan. 30-Feb. 1 USA Today/Gallup poll asked whether Americans approve or disapprove of seven specific actions President Obama has taken as president.

Respondents were asked whether they approved of his action “allowing funding for overseas family planning groups that provide abortions.”

Only 35 percent of respondents said they approved of the decision. A majority of Democrats supported the decision, while only 8 percent of Republicans did.

The second least popular presidential action was the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison center for suspected terrorists and other detainees. According to the USA Today/Gallup Poll, about 44 percent supported the move.

Sixty-six percent of those surveyed approved of a decision making it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination.

About three-quarters of respondents respectively approved of President Obama’s limiting interrogation techniques on prisoners, instituting higher fuel efficiency standards, tightening ethics rules for administration officials and naming special envoys for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.