The pro-life movement has been calling for the Trump administration to do all it can to defund Planned Parenthood, the abortion corporation currently receiving nearly $700 million every year in taxpayer funding. This is despite the reality that they have covered up sex abuse of children and have shown willingness to aid in sex trafficking.
This week, the House of Representatives took a step toward potentially defunding Planned Parenthood, passing a budget resolution allowing the Republican majorities in each house of Congress to move forward with the reconciliation process. Under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Senate can pass budget-related measures with a simple majority of just 51 votes, bypassing a 60-vote filibuster. So long as the House and the Senate work together to craft the bill, the filibuster can be avoided.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune held a joint press conference afterwards. “Our ambition in the Senate is we are aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined, in terms of savings,” Thune said, while Johnson added, “It was a good day in the House. I told you not to doubt us. The media always does. The Democrats always do. But we get the job done, and we’re really grateful to have had the big victory on the floor just now.”
Planned Parenthood is the foremost provider of abortions in the United States, holding 40% of the abortion market share. It is also a leading provider of so-called “gender-affirming care,” stating that “most of our health centers provide hormone therapy and other gender-affirming services….”
As the corporation’s legitimate health care offerings have continued to decline over the years, its abortions have skyrocketed. The past decade of reports has revealed that Planned Parenthood’s total services have decreased over 16% and clients are down by 30% (and it serves only an estimated 2% of all U.S. women of childbearing age). Prenatal care at Planned Parenthood has plummeted a whopping 68%, Pap tests and breast exams have dropped about 60%, adoption referrals are down 22%, and even contraceptive services have decreased by nearly 40%. Yet at the same time, taxpayer funding to the corporation has ballooned to nearly $700M annually — along with abortions.
Recently, the Trump administration temporarily froze funding for nine Planned Parenthood affiliates, along with seven other recipients, who have been informed of their potential violations of federal civil rights laws and executive orders — “including prohibitions on promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion and ‘taxpayer subsidization of open borders.’” But pro-life groups have called on Congress not to stop there.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has to find at least $880 billion in spending cuts under the budget resolution, and Johnson is pushing for the bill to be crafted quickly. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the deadline to raise the debt limit will likely come in August or September. Johnson said he hopes for the bill to be on Trump’s desk by Memorial Day.
“Time is of the essence,” he said. “We know what’s going on around the world. We know that the debt limit cliff is approaching pretty quickly here. We know that markets have been a little unstable. They want to know that Congress is on the job, and I’m here to tell you that we are.”
