Pro-Life Groups Call for 10-Year Ban on Federal Funding for Abortion Providers
A coalition of pro-life organizations addressed a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Wednesday, urging the Senate to implement a ban on federal funding to abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, for the next decade.
The current prohibition on federal tax funding for abortion services, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump as part of last year’s budget, is set to expire on July 4 of this year. According to sources, with the deadline approaching and a likely shift in House majority this November, the organizations stressed that unborn lives and substantial taxpayer dollars—amounting to hundreds of millions—are at risk.
In the letter, pro-life advocates conferred that instituting a 10-year ban on federal funds for abortion providers would be among the most impactful reforms for taxpayers that Congress could achieve.
Planned Parenthood’s recent annual report indicates that from 2023 to 2024, it received $832 million in taxpayer funding and performed a record-high 434,450 abortions. The letter stressed that “continuing to support the abortion industry is neither fiscally sound nor defensible amid historic federal debt and growing fiscal pressures.”
While the Hyde Amendment generally prohibits federal funding for abortions, Republicans and pro-life advocates have consistently argued against using taxpayer money to support organizations that perform such procedures. Representative actions, as seen in Trump’s 2025 spending proposal, have aimed to restrict Medicaid payments to entities like Planned Parenthood.
Organizations like Live Action, Students for Life, and CatholicVote, along with 34 others, pointed out that Planned Parenthood also engages in providing gender reassignment services for minors and sex education programs that some claim fail to offer adequate parental transparency.
Advocates informed Thune that the budget reconciliation approach would be the most effective method to curtail abortion services, stating that “defunding measures neatly fall within the fiscal and policy framework of reconciliation.” They argued that extending the funding suspension clause for a decade would ensure policy stability, safeguard taxpayer interests, and prevent future administrations from simply restoring funds through executive orders.
In response, a Planned Parenthood spokesperson criticized Republicans, labeling the previous ban as “unconstitutional.” Abortion rights groups claimed that 23 clinics were forced to shut down due to the last spending bill, with over 50 family planning clinics across 18 states closing recently.
“Lawmakers endorsing this measure are opting to jeopardize our health care system and the patients at family planning centers who already face barriers to care, all in the name of promoting anti-abortion policies,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She added that access to necessary healthcare is at risk.
Johnson noted that “President Trump and allies in Congress have caused irreversible damage by passing legislation to defund Planned Parenthood,” assuring that the Family Planning Action Fund will continuously advocate for sexual and reproductive health access for everyone.
Senator Josh Hawley introduced an amendment that would authorize Congress to prevent future Medicaid funding for abortion providers unless the bill increases the federal deficit from 2026 to 2035. He expressed his concerns about funding family planning programs again on July 4 as “unacceptable,” emphasizing his belief that “hardworking Americans should not have to finance abortions or gender transitions. Congress needs to act promptly.”
