Congress Let Planned Parenthood Funding Return

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On July 4, 2026, America marked 250 years of independence. On that very same day, a quiet clock ran out in Washington, and taxpayer dollars once again began flowing to the nation’s largest abortion provider. What pro-life Americans had celebrated as a historic victory just one year earlier turned out to carry an expiration date few people noticed.

A Promise With an Expiration Date

Last year, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which for the first time blocked Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. It was hailed as one of the most significant pro-life wins since Roe v. Wade was overturned. But there was a catch buried in the details.

The House had passed a ten-year funding ban, yet the final version was quietly trimmed to a single year during Senate negotiations. When that year lapsed on the nation’s 250th birthday, Planned Parenthood regained access to an estimated 800 million dollars or more in annual taxpayer funding. The organization that ends more unborn lives than any other in America was back on the public payroll.

For many people of faith, the timing was hard to stomach. On the day the country celebrated liberty and the God-given right to life, the federal government resumed underwriting an industry built on ending the lives of unborn children.

Congress Has the Power to Act Now

The good news is that the door has not closed. Congress is currently working through a new budget package, and lawmakers could restore the defunding through the same reconciliation process they used last year, which needs only a simple majority in the Senate.

So far, that language has been left out. As pro-life leaders gathered at the Capitol, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington admitted Planned Parenthood was not a priority in the latest proposal. Some Republicans, wary of an abortion fight heading into the November midterms, appear ready to let the moment slip away.

Pro-life members of Congress are pushing back hard. Rep. Michelle Fischbach demanded an end to temporary fixes, saying Americans should not be forced to foot the bill for an organization whose mission is the destruction of innocent human life. Rep. Mark Harris put it simply: protecting life should never have an expiration date.

Defenders of the funding argue that federal law already bars tax dollars from paying directly for abortions and that clinics use the money for services like cancer screenings. But that response sidesteps the deeper question of what taxpayers should ever be asked to fund in the first place.

Not One Dollar Belongs in Private Hands

Here is a truth worth stating plainly. Public money should never be handed to a private business to prop up its operations, no matter what that business does. When government funnels tax dollars to favored companies, it distorts the free market, rewards political allies, and forces citizens to bankroll enterprises they may find deeply wrong.

That principle grows far more urgent when the business in question ends innocent human life. No American should be compelled to subsidize an organization that, by its own annual report, ended the lives of more than 430,000 unborn children in a single year. That is not health care in any honest sense of the word. Charitable giving, private clinics, and community health centers already stand ready to meet real medical needs without demanding that taxpayers underwrite the taking of life.

The offense runs deeper still. Just after its funding resumed, Planned Parenthood announced it would spend 47 million dollars to defeat the very pro-life lawmakers who voted to cut it off. For roughly every twenty dollars it collects from taxpayers, the abortion giant intends to spend one dollar attacking the Americans forced to fund it against their conscience.

Scripture does not leave us guessing about our duty. “Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.” The call is not to comfortable silence but to courageous action on behalf of the defenseless.

The Fight Is Not Over

This moment will reveal whether last year’s victory was a true turning point or merely a talking point. The pro-life movement has refused to back down, and neither should the lawmakers who claimed the pro-life mantle when it was politically convenient.

People of faith have a role that no politician can fill for them. They can call their representatives, insist the defunding be restored in the current budget, and reject the excuse that the timing is inconvenient. The unborn do not have the luxury of waiting for a more comfortable political season.

America began its 251st year by funding the destruction of its own children. It does not have to end the year the same way. With clear conviction and steady pressure, the Body of Christ can help ensure that this promise, unlike the last one, carries no expiration date.

As believers, we are called to pray for our leaders and our nation. Pray for wisdom for those making these decisions, and for safety and dignity for all people affected by them.

That’s where we come in.

Prayer is at the heart of how Million Voices connects faith with civic life. Our Prayer Guide: Pray for Our Government Officials By Name is a free resource designed to help individuals, families, and small groups lift up the men and women who serve in public office—across every level of government and regardless of party.

Rooted in the scriptural call to pray “for kings and all those in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1–2), the guide offers a thoughtful framework for interceding on behalf of our leaders: for wisdom in their decisions, integrity in their conduct, protection for them and their families, and a heart for serving the common good.

Whether you’re looking to deepen your personal prayer life or to gather others in praying for our nation, this guide is a meaningful place to start. Download it here: https://millionvoices.org/mv-prayer-guide-pray-for-government-officials/

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