A leading pro-life organization sent a letter to Republican senators on Wednesday, urging them to pass a measure defunding abortion giant Planned Parenthood again before previous defunding provision expires of July 4, America’s 250th anniversary.
The letter from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America to GOP lawmakers comes after the passage of the second reconciliation bill — which did not contain another defunding measure — and as President Donald Trump pushes Republicans to pass a third reconciliation package.
“Last year, on the Fourth of July, you helped accomplish something historic — the first ever defunding of Big Abortion businesses of their federal Medicaid dollars for one year. Taxpayers should never be forced to fund businesses that prey on women and unborn children and simultaneously fund hostile political interests. Thanks to your hard work and commitment, H.R. 1, now known as the Working Families Tax Cuts, addressed this problem head-on,” SBA Pro-life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser wrote.
“However, absent congressional action, that defunding provision will expire in just 24 days — on America’s 250th birthday — and Medicaid dollars will once again flow to these harmful entities,” she continued. “In light of the completion of Reconciliation 2.0, it is essential that Congress direct its attention towards another reconciliation bill that stops abortion businesses from receiving American taxpayer dollars.”
Dannenfelser pointed to the death of 18-year-old Lexi Arguello in Colorado. A pro-life group called Operation Rescue obtained a court order to receive her autopsy report, which indicates that she died as the result of severe complications from a second-trimester abortion at a Planned Parenthood in Fort Collins. The Operation Rescue report alleges that Planned Parenthood did not call for help in a timely manner and requested ambulance not to use sirens, citing testimony from Lexi’s grandparents.
Dannenfelser also cited Planned Parenthood’s most recent annual report showing they performed 434,450 abortions in one year. That year, the abortion giant also received $832 million in the form of government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements — a $39.8 million increase from the previous report. While the Hyde Amendment bars federal dollars from funding abortions in most cases, Republicans and pro-life advocates argue that taxpayer dollars should not be used to prop up an organization that ends the lives of unborn babies.
“Women deserve better and more comprehensive care, and they are not without good options: For every Planned Parenthood, there are at least 15 community health centers (including federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics) offering women’s healthcare,” Dannenfelser said.
“A nationwide survey conducted by Cygnal found that a full 75 percent of Republican primary voters support defunding Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion business,” she continued. “Budget reconciliation remains the only viable legislative path to continuing to defund Big Abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood. We urge you to act quickly for the sake of the unborn and their moms, like Lexi.”
Dannenfelser’s letter follows a similar letter to House Republicans last week.
“Speaker Johnson’s eloquent remarks on the right to life, the first of human rights, promised in our nation’s founding documents are an inspiring reminder of why it is so vital to stop propping up the brutal abortion industry,” she said in a statement.
“Under Johnson and Leader Thune, Congress delivered a historic win for babies, moms and taxpayers in the Working Families Tax Cuts and proved to everyone that what once seemed barely imaginable — defunding Big Abortion of its number one largest stream of tax dollars, Medicaid — can be done,” she added.
“As Lexi Arguello’s tragic death shows, and even The New York Times uncovered in its stunning report on appalling ‘care’ standards in Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide, women and children everywhere are safer and better off without Big Abortion businesses,” she said. “And it is a winner with the GOP’s overwhelmingly pro-life voting base. As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, we urge all our Senate and House allies to stand strong and do what it takes to get a reconciliation bill to the finish line that continues protecting birthdays for all Americans.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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