A Biden Promise About Overseas Abortion Funding Could Prove Difficult To Implement

Among the promises that President elect-Biden is expected to fulfill immediately upon taking office: lifting a ban that President Trump imposed on U.S. foreign aid dollars related to abortion.

Specifically, the ban prohibits foreign aid funding for privately-run overseas-based groups that "perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning" for women. Among the activities that are barred: providing referrals for abortion or offering advice or medical information on the procedure. And this is prohibited even if the group funds their communications around abortions with non-U.S. sources.

The funding ban was first imposed in 1984 by then-President Ronald Reagan and has been the subject of political ping-pong ever since. Each incoming Democratic president has lifted it. Each incoming Republican president who followed a Democrat has reenacted it.

But with Biden, there's a twist: Even if he repeals the ban as expected, there's reason to wonder