WASHINGTON (OSV News) — A group of House Republicans have reportedly expressed opposition to eliminating Planned Parenthood’s federal funding through the budget reconciliation process.
In a closed-door meeting May 6 between House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both Louisiana Republicans, and a number of House Republicans concerned about potential Medicaid cuts, some raised objections to using reconciliation as a vehicle to strip funds from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, NOTUS reported.
Johnson previously suggested April 29 in a keynote address at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s gala that the budget blueprint President Donald Trump calls “one big, beautiful bill” could be used as a vehicle to “redirect funds away from big abortion and to federally qualified health centers.” Johnson, however, did not specifically name Planned Parenthood in his remarks with his reference to “big abortion.”
Asked about the NOTUS report during comments in the Oval Office on May 7, Trump said, “I don’t know yet. I have to see, because you’re just telling me that for the first time.”
“We’ll work something out,” he added.
Opponents of Planned Parenthood receiving taxpayer dollars, including pro-life advocacy groups like SBA, have pushed their congressional allies to eliminate this funding during the upcoming budget reconciliation process.
Planned Parenthood’s most recent annual report for 2022-2023 about its operations from 2021-2022, a window of time that included the June 2022 Dobbs decision, showed Planned Parenthood received about $700 million in “Government Health Services Reimbursements & Grants” during that time.
Supporters of allowing Planned Parenthood to receive Medicaid funds argue it provides cancer screening and prevention services — such as pap tests and HPV vaccinations — but critics argue the funds are fungible and could be used to facilitate abortion, despite prohibitions on tax funding for elective abortion procedures. Efforts to strip Planned Parenthood of public funds are sometimes referred to as “defunding.”
Meanwhile, a decision in Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a case concerning Planned Parenthood’s ability to use Medicaid funds in states that have restricted abortion is pending from the Supreme Court. A decision in that case is expected by the end of the high court’s current term, typically in June.
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