Progressive faith activists are lauding President Joe Bidens moves on Thursday to expand access to reproductive health care, calling his efforts a crucial first step toward undoing an anti-abortion agenda they believe was both oppressive and immoral.

The idea that all religious people oppose abortion is a myth, said Rev. Katey Zeh, CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. People of all faiths and the non-religious have abortions, and as president, Biden has a responsibility to protect their choices, she said.

As people of faith who support reproductive freedom, we believe that everyone has the capacity to make sacred decisions about their bodies, lives, families and futures, Zeh told HuffPost. Any attempt to control, restrict or interfere with that decision is reproductive oppression.

On Thursday, Biden rescinded the Mexico City Policy , which had blocked taxpayer funding from going to global health nonprofits that provide abortions or abortion counseling. President Donald Trump had broadened the policy to cover all global health aid. Supporters of the policy claimed that it upheld the sanctity of human life, while opponents called it a global gag rule that led to increases in unsafe abortions. Republican and Democratic presidents have implemented and rescinded the policy several times since it was enacted in 1985.

The president directed the Department of Health and Human Services to look into reversing regulations that prohibit federally funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions. Trumps ban on abortion counseling had forced Planned Parenthood affiliates to leave the federal family planning program. The legal process required to change this regulation could take months.