150 Pro-Life Groups Call on Congress to Defund “Big Abortion”
More than 150 pro-life groups this week called on Congress to stop funding what it calls Big Abortion with taxpayer dollars. Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, received almost $700 million in government reimbursements and grants in 2023, according to Fox News analysis of federal records. Pro-life groups that signed the letter include SBA Pro-Life America, Advancing American Freedom, AFA Action, CatholicVote and the Family Research Council.
“In November, the American people gave a mandate — it is time for change in Washington,” the groups wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. “Since then, the White House is taking swift action to stop the Biden abortion agenda and cut government waste.”
The groups pointed out that abortion not only harms women and unborn children but also pours millions of dollars into lobbying for the medical procedure. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund spent $69.5 million during the 2024 election cycle to campaign against President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion stance. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 in the landmark Dobbs decision, the advocacy group has actively opposed GOP state measures that restrict or ban abortion.
Although Trump enforced the Hyde Amendment to broadly prohibit Medicaid funding for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or a pregnancy that endangers the mother’s life, some states still can use their own funds to cover abortions for Medicaid beneficiaries beyond Hyde’s limitations. Recent court decisions have upheld states’ rights to determine Medicaid funding for abortion providers. Several bills in the House and Senate are designed to defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, including legislation reintroduced by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and cosponsored by 11 fellow Republicans.
A potential solution also lies in budget reconciliation, a legislative process by which the House can decide on what it wants to cut and fund. According to Metro Voice’s analysis, the budget then heads to the Senate, where it needs only 51 votes instead of going through the traditional filibuster procedure. The majority Republican Party controls 53 seats in the Senate.
“Abortion is the leading cause of death in America and for too long, hardworking Americans have been forced to underwrite it,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America. “The pro-life movement is fully united around getting taxpayers out of the brutal abortion industry, which kills one million babies and harms countless mothers each year.
“It’s unconscionable that abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood are propped up by hundreds of millions of dollars annually, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer. Our 150-member-strong coalition representing every state in the country sends a clear message that the abortion industry never deserves our tax dollars and that this Republican Congress has both the support and the duty to defund Big Abortion.”
