Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- On Friday, President Barack Obama rescinded the Mexico City Policy, a Bush protection that preventing forcing taxpayers to finance groups that promote or perform abortions overseas. On Saturday, the president issued the statement that accompanied the executive order.

Obama claims the Mexico City Policy somehow stood in the way of funding family planning efforts, even though the policy only prevented family planning dollars from going to pro-abortion groups.

"It is clear that the provisions of the Mexico City Policy are unnecessarily broad and unwarranted under current law, and for the past eight years, they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing countries," he said.

Obama also cast his decision to fund international abortions and abortion efforts as a way to find common ground in the abortion debate.

"For too long, international family planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue, the subject of a back and forth debate that has served only to divide us," Obama said. "I have no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate."

"It is time that we end the politicization of this issue. In the coming weeks, my Administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world," he said.

But for the majority of Americans who take a pro-life position on abortion and oppose funding abortion efforts with public money, the debate will continue.

Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council said pro-life advocates will look to restore the policy should they regain control of either the White House or Congress.

Perkins also accused Obama of ducking media coverage of his decision to fund international abortions.

"Of course, it was no accident that the new president postponed the act until the last possible minute on Friday, knowing the repeal would be buried in the weekend headlines," he told LifeNews.com. "Issuing it now means that even the presidential blackberry will get more media coverage than his international abortion bailout."

"The end of Mexico City is nothing less than a tragedy for the world's poor," he said.

Gary Bauer also chimed in and said Obama's executive orders are confusing.

"In a time of great economic anxiety and surging budget deficits, is forcing American taxpayers to subsidize abortion really such a high priority for the new administration or the best use of our resources?" he asked.

"And I can't help but be perplexed and disappointed by the irony of extending rights to terrorists while committing American tax dollars to the destruction of innocent life," he said.

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