Update 12/31/22: On Friday, President Biden signed the $1.7 trillion government funding bill, sending more than $286 million to “voluntary family planning projects,” including Planned Parenthood. The bill also includes $575 million to protect “biodiversity” by curbing the human population.
Update 12/23/22: The House passed the $1.7 trillion government funding bill on Friday, sending it to the desk of President Joe Biden. It passed the House in a vote of 225-201, with pro-abortion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) voting against it. The bill includes more than $286 million for “family planning projects.” Biden is expected to sign the bill.
12/23/22: The Senate passed the nearly $1.7 trillion government funding bill on Thursday in a 68-29 vote, sending the measure to the House for a Friday vote.
The bill includes a $286,479,000 allotment in the budget for “voluntary family planning projects,” or “Title X projects,” that include the funding of Planned Parenthood. Despite the millions of dollars designated for ‘family planning’, abortion groups including NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association have bitterly condemned the Omnibus spending package making its way through Congress.
“Congress had a clear directive and they failed to deliver,” said Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson. “At a time when Roe v. Wade has been overturned and health care access is under increasing threat, this bill fails to meet the moment.”
Clare Coleman, the president of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association said, “At a time of great crisis for reproductive health in this country, Congress has again utterly failed to safeguard access to the birth control and sexual health services made possible by the nation’s family planning program. Without those critical resources, agencies will be forced to shorten hours, lay off staff, and even close their doors, leaving patients without access.”
While funding will not be increased and has not increased for the past 9 years, the provision of non-abortion services by Planned Parenthood has also not increased. According to a detailed analysis by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the provision of non-abortion services by Planned Parenthood has decreased by 21.4% since 2010. Total services are down 21.4%. This includes a staggering 74% decrease in total cancer screenings including PAP tests.
Included in the bill is the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from being spent on abortion. Until 2019, President Biden supported the Hyde Amendment but vowed late in his career to remove such provisions from federal budgets. Despite this pledge, the President is expected to sign the bill once it passes both chambers.
Political funding by Planned Parenthood for abortion-supporting candidates hit record levels this year. The organization spent $50 million during the 2022 midterm elections, breaking a previous record of $45 million in 2020.
In addition, the bill also includes $575 million in funding for “family planning/reproductive health” in areas of the world in which “biodiversity” is deemed to be “threatened” by humans.
Editor’s Note 12/29/22: This article was updated with additional information about the federal spending bill’s family planning funding. An earlier version inadvertently said Biden had signed the bill. We regret the error.
