President Obama made good on his promise to conservative Democrats on Wednesday by signing an executive order reaffirming restrictions on federal funding for abortion services.
In order to acquire the final few votes to push through healthcare legislation in the House, Obama made an 11th-hour deal with Representative Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and other anti-abortion Democrats to eliminate a loophole in the Senate’s version of the bill, which many members of the House found to be inadequate.
However, Stupak and his colleagues are taking fire from fellow abortion opponents for allowing the president to buy their votes for an executive order that many conservatives believe to be rather ambiguous.
In fact, Stupak has taken heavy criticism from both sides of the aisle. While pro-life supporters say he is allowing more openings for abortion, pro-choice members believe the order may eventually lead to the denial of abortion services for women, Fox News reports.
Stupak defended the decision on Tuesday, comparing the order to other historically significant initiatives, such as Lincoln’s resolution to free the slaves.
“Throughout history, executive orders have been an important means of implementing public policy,” said the Michigan representative. “The most famous executive order was the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Lincoln in 1863.”
