Republican lawmakers have pledged to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood, and activists are hoping that it happens soon. But those who want to see it wrapped into the budget reconciliation bill may be disappointed.
“It actually doesn’t save money,” said Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus and a longtime supporter of stripping funding from the organization. “I just don’t see how that fits into the current reconciliation discussion.”
Removing funding from Planned Parenthood has long been a goal for conservatives in Congress. In 2015, the House Freedom Caucus members declared that they would not support any spending bills that did not contain language slashing money from the organization — and threatened to shut down the government over it. So, it makes sense to activists that Republicans — now that they control both chambers of Congress and the White House — would want to defund Planned Parenthood at the first opportunity.
“I’ve been hearing from so many senators and congressmen, including leaders on both sides of the Capitol, great enthusiasm for that project,”said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “I do think that it is an easy sell to say, in a budget reconciliation … let’s don’t fund the abortion industry.”
But conservatives in the House seem to think differently now than they did in 2015. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told NOTUS that it “hasn’t been discussed.”
“I haven’t heard it even mentioned, so that means that I don’t think it’s a concern,” Greene added.
Federal funds are already barred from covering abortions except in the case of rape, incest or a threat to the pregnant person’s life. But given Planned Parenthood affiliates perform nearly 40% of all abortions in the United States, it remains a top target for the anti-abortion movement.
But not only would cutting federal funds from Planned Parenthood not save money, it would likely increase spending. When the House passed a bill in 2015 to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that doing so would increase direct spending about $130 million because, the report found, patients wouldn’t be able to access birth control methods provided by Planned Parenthood and “additional births that would result from enacting such a bill would add to federal spending for Medicaid.”
Adding a provision to defund Planned Parenthood would also likely face an obstacle in the Senate: the Byrd rule. In 2017, when Republicans attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act through the reconciliation process, they added an anti-Planned Parenthood provision. While it passed the House, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the Planned Parenthood portion was extraneous, meaning it would need 60 votes to pass. (Reconciliation bills only need a simple majority to pass).
Still, as Republicans discuss where to make federal spending cuts as they prepare a massive bill of Trump priorities, Planned Parenthood’s funding remains high on the list for some lawmakers.
Sen. Joni Ernst, who is in Senate GOP leadership, told NOTUS that defunding Planned Parenthood is “always a priority for me.” She added that “if at all possible,” she’d be pushing to prohibit the organization from receiving federal money in the reconciliation bill.
“I would like to see [defunding Planned Parenthood] in there,” said Rep. Tim Burchett. “We don’t need to fund Planned Parenthood, anybody providing abortions at taxpayers’ expense.”
Rep. Chip Roy, a House Budget Committee member, said that discussions right now are focused on what spending levels and a provision on abortion funding could potentially be addressed as they take a look at mandatory spending, which includes Medicaid. (Planned Parenthood’s biggest source of federal funding comes from through Medicaid reimbursements).
Rep. Kevin Hern, a member of House GOP leadership, threw cold water on the idea. He told NOTUS that there were “zero” conversations happening around Planned Parenthood and reconciliation.
House Republicans have a narrow majority. Even if most of the conference supports barring federal funding from Planned Parenthood, the few more moderate Republicans could kill a provision from making it into reconciliation.
Still, some Republicans and activists hope a bill defunding the organization makes it to Trump’s desk in the next two years.
“I think defunding Planned Parenthood is likely to happen through other means,” Rep. Chris Smith, co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus. “Like, for real.” (Smith later added that he didn’t want to give up the fight: “In the interim, we’re working to try to get it into reconciliation.”)
“I think what we have given [Trump] with a ‘defund planned parenthood’ opportunity is something that meets his requirements,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, told NOTUS in January. “If you think about the checklist, it’s not a gestational ban, it would make abortion a state issue, … it defunds his political enemies.”
This story has been updated with additional comment from Rep. Chris Smith.
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Oriana González is a reporter at NOTUS.