USA Today:
Both sides in the abortion debate came to a rare agreement on Wednesday: The executive order on abortion signed by President Obama, they said, was basically meaningless.
"A transparent political fig leaf," according to the National Right to Life Committee's Douglas Johnson.
"A symbolic gesture," said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards....
Obama agreed to issue the order to placate a group of House Democrats who oppose abortion rights, led by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-MI. They had demanded that the health care bill include specific language banning any use of government funds or tax subsidies for abortions....
Now, no one's happy.
Richards says the order only "codifies" what's already in the bill. Although she said she's pleased women can pay for coverage of abortions on their own, she regrets that a "pro-choice president" signed the order.
Johnson lashed out at Stupak and those who voted for the health care bill, calling them "lawmakers who in the end cared more about pleasing the powerful (House) speaker from San Francisco than their pro-life constituents."
The White House is looking to move on. Obama signed the order Wednesday behind closed doors, and Gibbs was reluctant to discuss the controversial issue at his daily news briefing....
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