Washington D.C., Jan 29, 2009 / 03:27 am
An Obama nominee for Deputy Secretary of State who argued the Mexico City Policy would be a free speech violation if applied domestically is being charged by a U.S. senator with contradicting U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
The Mexico City Policy forbids funding for groups which perform or promote abortions. It was originally enacted under the Reagan administration, reversed under the Clinton administration, reintroduced under the George W. Bush presidency, and again reversed on Jan. 23 by President Barack Obama.
The Deputy Secretary of State nominee, James B. Steinberg, made his comments in written testimony to the Foreign Relations Committee.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) asked whether Steinberg supported President Obama’s efforts to lift the Mexico City Policy’s restrictions “and use the federal taxpayer dollars to fund abortion services overseas.”