Pro-life organizations are calling on congressional Republicans to quickly restore the federal funding ban on Planned Parenthood after a one-year restriction expired, allowing the organization's clinics to once again receive Medicaid reimbursements.
Beginning July 5, Planned Parenthood clinics regained the ability to bill Medicaid for non-abortion healthcare services, including contraception, cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted infections.
The return of Medicaid funding provides a significant financial boost for the organization. Medicaid accounts for more than $800 million in revenue for Planned Parenthood, and the organization says more than half of its patients rely on the government health insurance program for coverage.
Republicans last year succeeded in temporarily cutting Planned Parenthood off from Medicaid funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Because of Senate reconciliation rules, however, the provision was limited to one year and expired without congressional action to extend it.
The lapse has sparked frustration among pro-life advocates, who argue Republican lawmakers should have prioritized extending the funding ban instead of focusing on other legislative priorities such as defense and immigration.
Students for Life Action responded by issuing every member of Congress an "F" on its "Pro-Life Generation Report Card," urging lawmakers to renew the restriction.
"The bottom line, pro-life voters want to see healthcare money invested with those who intend for their patients to survive with their lives and fertility intact," Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action and Students for Life of America, said in a statement.
The organization recently staged a protest outside Republican National Committee headquarters, calling on GOP leaders to recommit to defunding Planned Parenthood.
Some pro-life leaders say they warned lawmakers last year that allowing the provision to expire just ahead of the 2026 midterm elections could weaken Republican momentum on abortion policy. They now argue the GOP may lose its opportunity to enact additional conservative priorities if control of Congress changes after November.
"It is the default expectation of the pro-life movement for Congress to renew the defunding of Planned Parenthood and abortion businesses, and the politically smart thing for Republicans who must energize the base to win in November," Kelsey Pritchard, communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement to High Plains Pundit. "SBA is doing our part by investing $160 million in 2026 and 2028 for Republican pro-life candidates, now Republicans must do their part in doing everything they can to once again defund Big Abortion."
Live Action President Lila Rose also criticized the expiration of the funding restriction.
"President Trump and Congress must act as fast as possible to restore and extend the defunding of Planned Parenthood and every organization that commits abortion," Rose said in a statement, calling the lapse a "moral failure."
House Republicans may soon have another opportunity to revisit the issue.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has expressed interest in pursuing a third budget reconciliation package, and members of the House Freedom Caucus are pushing to include an extension of the Planned Parenthood funding ban.
However, the proposal faces a less certain future in the Senate, where many Republicans are skeptical that another reconciliation bill is politically or procedurally feasible. Some senators are also hesitant to reopen a contentious abortion debate so close to the midterm elections.
Federal law already prohibits Medicaid from paying for nearly all abortions under the Hyde Amendment. Conservatives have argued that Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers should not receive any federal funding, even for non-abortion services, contending patients can obtain those services from other healthcare providers.
Although the one-year funding restriction did not financially cripple Planned Parenthood as some supporters had hoped, it did have an impact on the organization's operations. Nearly 30 health centers closed nationwide during the period.
