House Republicans move to defund Planned Parenthood

CatholicVote | May 12, 2025
Original article can be viewed HERE
Photo Credit: Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com

CV NEWS FEED // House Republicans unveiled sweeping legislation late Sunday that would defund Planned Parenthood for the next decade and prohibit taxpayer funding of so-called “gender transition procedures” for minors under Medicaid.

The bill, part of a broader GOP fiscal package aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda, includes multiple provisions long sought by the pro-life movement.

Section 44126 bars any federal funds from going to “prohibited entities” that perform abortions outside Hyde Amendment exceptions, which only allow for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.

The ban would remain in place for ten years from enactment.

“Defunding abortion-giant Planned Parenthood, and other abortion facilities, has been a goal of the pro-life movement for decades,” said CatholicVote Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky. “We have exposed their compliance with fraud, statutory rape, baby body part trafficking, and numerous other abuses, yet never seemed to move Congress to defund. This Congress, and President Trump, deserve high praise for delivering on an overdue promise from the Republican Party.”

Planned Parenthood reported over 400,000 abortions between 2023 and 2024—an increase of 9,515 aborted babies from the previous year. At the same time, the group’s taxpayer funding surged by over 13%, reaching $792.2 million.

According to Live Action, Planned Parenthood has aborted an estimated 7.1 million babies since 2000 and now commits roughly 40% of all US abortions.

Pro-life legislators have rallied behind the measure. As Daily Caller first reported, a coalition of 183 state lawmakers signed a letter to Congress urging Republicans to use the budget reconciliation process to defund Planned Parenthood.

“[W]e are deeply concerned with the way that big abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood prey on unborn children and hurt women, all while receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from American taxpayers,” the letter reads. “With a Republican trifecta in Washington, it is time to use the budget reconciliation process to defund big abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.”

The legislation also seeks to block federal financial participation in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for “gender transition procedures” performed on minors. The bill would prohibit taxpayer dollars from covering such interventions, including cross-sex hormones and surgeries.

A 2025 American Principles Project report found that $24.6 billion in taxpayer dollars is eligible to cover such procedures, with another $11.1 billion potentially at risk under expanded coverage rules.

Public opinion appears to support the measure. An April 2025 poll found that 65% of likely voters oppose using federal tax dollars to fund gender transitions for minors.

The moves come amid mounting scrutiny over Planned Parenthood’s practices.

Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services released a report identifying Planned Parenthood as a “leading provider” of cross-sex hormones to children. Similarly, Live Action’s latest undercover investigation exposed Planned Parenthood facilities in multiple states for offering these drugs to minors with no therapy, no in-person evaluation, and no parental consent.

The bill originated in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which was tasked with identifying at least $880 billion in spending cuts to offset new federal priorities. The committee has jurisdiction over key programs, including Medicaid.

House GOP leaders reportedly plan to bring the bill to a floor vote on May 26, with markup sessions scheduled Tuesday.

Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-KY, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, defended the legislation in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

“Undoubtedly, Democrats will use this as an opportunity to engage in fear-mongering and misrepresent our bill as an attack on Medicaid,” Guthrie wrote. “In reality, it preserves and strengthens Medicaid for children, mothers, people with disabilities and the elderly—for whom the program was designed.

House Republicans move to defund Planned Parenthood

House Republicans move to defund Planned Parenthood

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