The election integrity movement deserves tremendous credit for making the SAVE America Act a must-pass priority for Congress. Over the last six months, its advocates in both the House and Senate have repeatedly forced consideration of the legislation and successfully persuaded President Donald Trump not to sign the housing bill or other major legislation until the bill is passed.
Sadly, pro-life groups have recently been told that because they have not employed similar tactics, defunding Big Abortion providers is somehow not a high priority. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite repeated calls for Congress to extend the prohibition on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood that expired on July 4, congressional leaders now suggest pro-life groups have not made enough noise. Republicans should not mistake tactical differences for a lack of commitment.
Congress can and should do both.
Trump is already halfway there by calling for a ban on taxpayer funding for so-called transgender mutilation. Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, has expanded into providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones alongside abortion services. Congress and the White House should include, at a minimum, another one-year prohibition on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in the Reconciliation 3.0 package.
While the SAVE America Act is an important and commonsense bill, defunding Big Abortion is equally important to a core part of the Republican coalition. More than 36 million people identify as pro-life, and they have been one of the Republican Party’s most reliable voting blocs for decades. Failing to extend the Medicaid funding restriction would discourage these voters while sending their hard-earned tax dollars to a partisan organization that has pledged to spend tens of millions defeating Republicans this fall.
Ending taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood has been a decades-long goal of the pro-life movement. From 1984 through 2024, every Republican Party platform opposed taxpayer funding for abortion providers. Although the 2024 platform was streamlined, Republicans remained committed to ending the flow of federal dollars to organizations like Planned Parenthood. While the Hyde Amendment bars direct taxpayer funding of abortions, Planned Parenthood continues to receive hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars each year that subsidize its overall operations.
The inclusion of a one-year prohibition on Medicaid funding for major abortion providers in the Working Families Tax Cuts bill was a landmark victory for the pro-life movement. Sadly, that provision expired on America’s 250th birthday because Congress failed to act. Medicaid funding can once again flow to Planned Parenthood unless lawmakers restore the restriction.
That inaction did not stop Planned Parenthood Votes, the organization’s affiliated super PAC, from announcing plans to spend $47 million to defeat Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections. It is difficult to justify restoring taxpayer funding to an organization that is simultaneously investing millions to replace the very lawmakers who appropriated those funds. Rewarding Planned Parenthood with renewed federal funding is both bad policy and bad politics.
As chemical abortions have overtaken surgical abortions nationwide, Planned Parenthood has increasingly expanded into providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Trump’s call to end taxpayer support for gender-transition procedures should naturally include ending taxpayer funding for organizations that profit from providing those services.
The principal sponsors of the SAVE America Act, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), are among Congress’s strongest pro-life advocates. They should ensure that extending the Medicaid funding prohibition for Planned Parenthood is included in the final reconciliation package.
A CATHOLIC GRANDMOTHER WAS FIRED FOR TELLING THE TRUTH. AMERICA SHOULD PAY ATTENTION
Some consultants may argue that discussing abortion this close to the midterm elections is politically risky. But Planned Parenthood is already spending $47 million to defeat Republicans regardless of whether Congress acts. Silence will not change that reality.
The greater political risk is sending more than 36 million pro-lifers the message that their priorities no longer matter. Republicans have shown remarkable determination in advancing election integrity. They should demonstrate that same resolve in ending taxpayer funding for the nation’s largest abortion provider. Congress does not have to choose between securing America’s elections and defending innocent human life. It can, and should, do both.
Kristen A. Ullman is president of Eagle Forum, a national conservative public policy organization.