Defund ‘Big Abortion’ industry that thrived under Biden, pro-life groups urge Congress

FIRST ON FOX: More than 150 state and national pro-life coalitions signed a letter sent to Congress Wednesday morning urging lawmakers to cut Medicaid funding to “Big Abortion,” primarily Planned Parenthood, through budget reconciliation.

Budget reconciliation is a special legislative process used in Congress to make changes to spending, revenue, and the federal debt limit.

While the coalition acknowledged the Trump administration’s efforts to stop former President Joe Biden’s “abortion agenda” and cut government waste through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the group said a “Republican trifecta presents the opportunity to bolster these efforts” even further.

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After President Donald Trump’s electoral victory and his subsequent pardoning of pro-life individuals charged under the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ), pro-life conservatives are now redirecting their efforts within the movement to cut off abortion providers’ access to widespread federal funding.

“Republican reconciliation bills in 2015 and 2017 included a provision to stop giving hard-earned American tax dollars to Big Abortion,” the groups wrote. “In 2025 it is even more urgent to cut funding for this industry that endangers women and unborn children and spends tens of millions of dollars to promote woke policies and candidates. Planned Parenthood and groups like it were among those first identified for cost saving measures by Elon Musk who singled them out in the Wall Street Journal last November.”

Trump has “already rolled back” funding for abortion groups abroad through his executive order reinforcing the Hyde Amendment, a law that prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions.

“Congressional action is necessary to stop the biggest source of taxpayer cash for the domestic abortion industry – Medicaid,” the letter states.

While the Hyde Amendment sets the federal limits on abortion funding, individual states have the authority to expand or restrict Medicaid coverage beyond these exceptions. Some states choose to use state funds to provide Medicaid coverage for abortion services beyond the cases allowed under the Hyde Amendment, while others do not.

Several lawmakers in the House and Senate have already introduced bills to rollback federal support for Planned Parenthood. Introduced by Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., in January, the “Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2025” proposes a one-year moratorium on federal funding to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., and its affiliates. 

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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also introduced the End Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Providers Act in January, seeking to defund Planned Parenthood and similar abortion providers nationwide. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., along with six other lawmakers, reintroduced this legislation in January.

In 2024, Planned Parenthood – the nation’s leading provider of abortion services – spent nearly $70 million to support pro-abortion candidates and abortion ballot measures across the country through its political action arm. Abortion was one of the major party platform issues for Democrats in 2024, with Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri and Montana voting to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions.

“Their massive pro-abortion political arm, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, pushes all-trimester abortions and promotes fearmongering lies that put women and girls at needless risk,” the letter said.

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Both the House and Senate adopted separate budgets for FY 2025 last month, and both are expected to pass their reconciliation packages by April or May. The Trump administration also plans to freeze $27.5 million in federal family-planning grants to organizations, including Planned Parenthood, while reviewing their use of funds for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

“Women and children deserve better care. In an era of reexamining federal funding, Congress should start by cutting funding for Big Abortion in the upcoming reconciliation bill,” the groups said.

Among the 150 major pro-life coalitions who signed the letter include Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, AAPLOG Action, ACLJ Action, Advancing American Freedom and AFA Action.