WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Thursday backed a woman’s ‘right to choose’ on the 36th anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision that gave women a constitutional right to abortion. ‘On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters,’ Obama said in a written statement. ‘I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose.’ The 1973 Supreme Court decision, enshrined as ‘Roe v. Wade’ for the key figures in the case, gave the United States some of the least restrictive abortion laws in the world. Roe v Wade galvanized conservative religious groups against abortion and made it a hot-button political issue, even though surveys have shown that more Americans are pro-choice — in favor of a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion — than pro-life, or against abortion. Even a survey conducted last year by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) showed that only 11 percent of Americans favored a total ban on abortion. Obama’s […]