ACLU Drops Lawsuit After Trump Admin Restored Millions In Funding To Planned Parenthood

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday after federal officials quietly restored tens of millions in funds to Planned Parenthood.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Title X grants to the nation’s largest abortion provider in December, Politico reported. The administration had frozen the funds last spring. Officials blocked approximately $27.5 million in grants as part of a probe into diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at organizations receiving federal dollars, The Boston Pilot reported.

Pro-life leaders criticized the decision and called for more aggressive action against Planned Parenthood and other organizations providing abortions. (RELATED: Showdown Over Planned Parenthood Funding Lands At Supreme Court Amid Abortion Provider’s Financial Struggles)

“There is a way to fire Planned Parenthood from all programs, instead of handling this piece by piece, and that’s debarment,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, told OSV News.

Hawkins said Planned Parenthood “needs a full DOGE experience, of evaluating them for fraud and for all the allegations of failure to report sex crimes or operating a racist work environment, to name only a few of the charges recently made.”

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America called on the administration to reinstate the Protect Life Rule from Trump’s first term, which restricted abortion providers from receiving Title X funds.

.@Politico reports tens of millions of Title X dollars were quietly restored to Planned Parenthood.

The Protect Life Rule from the 1st Trump admin stopped Big Abortion businesses from using Title X taxpayer $$ as a slush fund. Biden canceled it.

The Trump admin must immediately…

— SBA Pro-Life America (@sbaprolife) January 14, 2026

“The Protect Life Rule from the 1st Trump admin stopped Big Abortion businesses from using Title X taxpayer $$ as a slush fund. Biden canceled it,” they posted to X.

HHS originally withheld funds in March 2025 after officials flagged more than a dozen providers for possible civil rights violations, Politico reported. The agency cited concerns about DEI practices in hiring and patient treatment. Some providers faced scrutiny allegedly being supportive of providing services to illegal immigrants.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro informed the courtt that “the review is completed, and all grants at issue for Plaintiff’s members have been restored,” according to a Dec. 19 court document obtained by the outlet.

The lawsuit, filed in April 2025, challenged the withholding of funds that affected around 865 service sites across almost two dozen states, according to the ACLU.

The restored Title X money represents only a portion of federal funds flowing to Planned Parenthood. The organization received more than $700 million in taxpayer dollars for the fiscal year that came to a close June 30, 2024, The Boston Pilot reported, citing the group’s 2023-2024 report.

The Daily Caller has reached out to HHS’ Office of Population Affairs for comment.