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Several of my conservative friends have taken to social media, sharing this LiveActionNews article that claims President Trump issued an executive order to defund Planned Parenthood (International).

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits federal funding from going towards foreign nonprofit organizations that promote or commit abortions. The action comes just one day after the 44th anniversary of the devastating Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion-on-demand in America.

The policy, which was implemented by President Ronald Reagan, will effectively defund International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International. Trump, who has made promises to defund Planned Parenthood and make permanent the Hyde Amendment, took an important step to halt America’s hand in bankrolling abortion overseas.

The only other reference I could find for this claim was from another heavily-biased site.

If such a statement were actually true, it seems that a more reputable news network would have made a mention of it, or there would at least be a response from the pro-choice camp.

Did President Trump actually issue an executive order defunding Planned Parenthood (International)?

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The list of Donald Trump executive orders shows (under Presidential memoranda):

Barring international non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortions from receiving US government funding.

This is also described as the Mexico City Policy.

Also see CNN.

Official press release. Note that this describes it as a presidential memorandum rather than an executive order.

I'll leave it up to the reader whether to regard the original claim as substantially true (Trump restored the Mexico City Policy) or technically false (not an executive order). Or both. I also do not try to determine the impact of the action. I assert that this establishes the following claim: Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum that restores the Mexico City Policy.

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  • a memorandum is a statement of intent. An executive order is a declaration of law. All the memorandum does is set out the government's intent to create law to achieve something.
    – jwenting
    Jan 25, 2017 at 13:13

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