The House narrowly passed Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ which includes language denying Medicaid reimbursements to entities that commit elective abortions, including Planned Parenthood.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) -- The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted 215-214 on Thursday morning to pass President Donald Trump’s tax reform and spending package, dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes among its provisions language to bar Medicaid reimbursements to entities that commit elective abortions, including Planned Parenthood.
The bill aims to enact large portions of Trump’s legislative agenda through the budget reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority vote in the Senate rather than the typical 60-vote threshold for standalone legislation. It includes several other conservative priorities, including new limits on benefits to illegal immigrants and exclusion of Medicaid funds for "gender transitions" of minors.
All but three House Republicans voted in favor, with Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio voting no, and Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland voting present.
Prior to the vote, a handful of moderate Republicans reportedly raised private objections to House Speaker Mike Johnson about the abortion provision, with Rep. Mike Lawler of New York publicly saying afterward that “I’m not for taking away people’s health care” and “Planned Parenthood does provide a lot of services outside of abortion-related services, and so, you know, I’d have to see what they’re proposing.”
But the bill subsequently passed the House Budget Committee including the language, which Planned Parenthood called “cruel” and claimed would mean “people will lose access to birth control, STI testing and treatment, cancer screenings, and many more services that patients rely on to stay healthy and survive.” However, Planned Parenthood’s own annual reports continually show increasing emphasis on abortions at the expense of non-abortive offerings.
Due to its defunding language, the “Big Beautiful Bill” has won the support of pro-life groups including Live Action, Susan B. Anthony, and Students for Life. “We implore you not to let this historic initiative to defund Planned Parenthood and all abortion vendors fail now,” SFL president Kristan Hawkins told lawmakers. “The choice is yours, and we ask that you choose to advance the current bill language all the way to President Trump’s desk for signature.”
Not every pro-life organization is so enthused, however.
“As written, the House-approved ‘big, beautiful bill’ will still fund Planned Parenthood for abortions in the cases of rape, incest, and the mother’s health,” warns American Life League national director Katie Brown Xavios. “Give Planned Parenthood an inch, and it will take a mile. If the exceptions are the only way Planned Parenthood will get paid, you better believe that every abortion will now become a life-or-death situation so that Planned Parenthood ensures that it will get its money.”
Further, critics argue that by adding up to $5 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years (canceling out promised future spending cuts that may not actually materialize), the overall consequences for America’s fiscal solvency are of great concern despite pro-life and conservative language that could be included in a bill that spent less and cut more.
The package now moves to the Senate, which will exercise its own judgment on the details and potentially send a revised version back to the House for another round of voting. A number of GOP senators have voiced opposition to various provisions. Given vocal pressure from the president to “send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE,” however,
Within weeks of returning to office, Trump began enforcing the Hyde Amendment (which forbids most federal funds from directly supporting elective abortions), reinstated the Mexico City Policy (which forbids non-governmental organizations from using taxpayer dollars for elective abortions abroad), and cut millions in pro-abortion subsidies by freezing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending.
In March, the administration froze Title X “family planning” grants to nonprofits it said violated its executive orders on immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including Planned Parenthood affiliates in nine states.
Last year, Planned Parenthood’s most recent annual report revealed that its affiliates across the nation took in $699.3 million in government “health services” reimbursements and grants, accounting for 39 percent of its total revenue during that period.
Losing some of that money has taken a considerable toll, causing closures in several states, and while evidence indicates that so-called “telehealth” abortions have helped sustain the industry after Roe, it cannot fully cancel out the deterrent effect of making surgical abortions harder to obtain.
Other Republicans have proposed standalone measures to fully cut off Planned Parenthood’s government funding: the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, which permanently bans federal funds from being used for abortion; and the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, which disqualifies Planned Parenthood and its affiliates specifically. But they would require 60 votes to make it through the Senate.
