Is there life after the Mexico City policy?

PIP: On January 22, 1993--the 20th anniversary of the legalization of abortion in the US--President William Clinton signed 5 abortion-related memoranda that reversed almost a decade of conservative Republican policies in the field of reproductive health. Perhaps most significant on a global level was termination of the 1984 "Mexico City policy"--federal money can once again be assigned to international family planning programs that provide abortions or abortion counseling as part of their work. The International Planned Parenthood Federation lost millions of dollars in US aid for refusing to sign the Mexico City agreement, and anti-abortion forces in the developing world gained in strength. Most affected were poor women and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean who were forced to obtain unsafe illegal abortions. Although President Clinton's action creates the necessary political climate for a renewed battle against unsafe abortion in developing countries, an intensive campaign will be required to undo the "chill factor" created by a decade of neglect of abortion rights.^ieng