In a long-expected move, President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order ending the ban on U.S. funds for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option, officials told The Associated Press on Friday. Liberal groups welcomed the decision while abortion rights foes criticized the president. Known as the «Mexico City policy, » the ban has been reinstated and then reversed by Republican and Democratic presidents since Republican President Ronald Reagan established it in 1984. President Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but President George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.
