Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) is urging the House to prevent taxpayer funding for abortion organizations via reconciliation, following the Senate’s rejection of an amendment on Wednesday.
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) sent Thursday afternoon, Hawley cautioned that without an extension of the ban on taxpayer funding to abortion providers, billions in federal money could end up supporting family planning programs, some of which supply sex-change drugs to minors.
The existing prohibition on federal funding for abortions is set to expire on July 4th, and Hawley’s amendment aimed to extend it. The proposal sought to restrict future Medicaid funding to abortion service providers unless the legislation increased the federal deficit from 2026 to 2035.
“Time is of the essence,” Hawley stated to Johnson.
He emphasized in his letter, “If the House does not act immediately, billions in federal dollars will go to Planned Parenthood and other healthcare ‘providers’ for hormones, puberty blockers, and irreversible treatments for minors,” and described the potential situation as “unconscionable.”
Hawley referenced estimates from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which indicated that family planning programs alone received over $1.5 billion in Medicare and Medicaid funds between 2019 and 2021.
He also mentioned a report from the Concerned Women of America Legislative Action Committee (CWLAC), which highlighted a 40 percent rise in “gender-affirming care” at community clinics focused on family planning.
“Planned Parenthood is poised to bolster its transgender initiatives using taxpayer funds collected from seniors and vulnerable populations,” he remarked.
“The House must act now to safeguard America’s children. In our efforts to pass a new reconciliation budget resolution, we need to include a ban on federal funding for transgender treatments and abortion providers. I implore you to act swiftly,” he concluded.
Planned Parenthood’s most recent annual report reveals that between 2023 and 2024, $832 million in taxpayer dollars was expended, resulting in 434,450 abortions, marking a record high.
