Senate Republicans scored a significant victory for pro-life advocates on Monday, defeating a Democrat-led amendment that would have preserved federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business.
The Senate parliamentarian ruled that a provision to defund Planned Parenthood in the Republican-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” complies with Senate rules, paving the way for its inclusion in the budget reconciliation process.
The pro-abortion amendment, proposed by Democrat Sen. Patty Murray, aimed to strike the defunding provision, which pro-life groups argue is critical to preventing taxpayer dollars from supporting an organization that killed over 402,000 babies in abortions in 2024, per Planned Parenthood’s annual report.
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The final vote was 51-49 against the pro-abortion amendment with all Republicans exception Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting against the Demcorats’ amendment to stop defunding.
Democrats, including Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), decried the parliamentarian’s ruling.
On Saturday, Senators voted 51 to 49 to advance the bill following Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming all voting to allow debate on the reconciliation measure.
Every Senate Democrat voted no after radical pro-abortion senator Chuck Schumer promised all pro-abortion Democrats would vote in lockstep.
Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina voted no as well. They are pro-life but object to the bill over other fiscal concerns even though it would result in defunding Planned Parenthood for the first time ever. Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly worked with Vice President JD Vance for three hours to get these Republican lawmakers on board with opening debate.
Now the Senate will have 20 hours of debate followed by votes on potentially dozens of amendments to the measure and a motion by Schumer to read the entire bill. The budget reconciliation process allows a final majority vote on the bill – otherwise Democrats would filibuster the measure and block defunding Planned Parenthood.
On Friday, the Senate published updated text of the One Big Beautiful Bill after negotiations with the parliamentarian. The bill includes language to stop forced taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and Big Abortion for one year.
The good news is that Planned Parenthood defunding is retained in the final version of the bill, but the bad news is that the 10 year funding ban has been scaled back to just one year.
Still, one top pro-life leader told LifeNews that defunding America’s biggest abortion business for even one year is a massive pro-life victory never achieved before. As such, SBA Pro-Life President Marjorie Dannenfelser wants the Senate to pass the bill.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that stops forced taxpayer funding of the abortion industry has been retained in the Senate bill, as we were confident it would, though for one year. This is a huge win,” she said.
Dannenfelser added: “Taxpayers should never be forced to funnel their hard-earned dollars to Big Abortion. This funding currently hits almost $800 million annually. New polling shows Americans are horrified when they learn about the grossly negligent so-called ‘women’s health care’ offered by the abortion industry’s ringleader, Planned Parenthood, which is focused on abortions, transgender ‘treatments,’ politics and lawfare versus helping low-income patients. Women deserve real options, and with community health centers vastly more accessible and comprehensive, they have them.”
“SBA Pro-Life America will proudly score in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill that delivers on a critical priority: ending forced taxpayer funding of the abortion industry. We commend Leader Thune, who is a tremendous champion of life, Finance Committee Chairman Crapo, and their Senate GOP colleagues for their hard work through the reconciliation process. We will keep working with Congress and the administration to ensure Big Abortion continues to be excluded from taxpayer funding in future years. We urge the Senate and House to persevere to the finish line so President Trump can sign the One Big Beautiful Bill into law immediately.”
Reconciliation bills in 2015 and 2017 included a provision to stop funneling American tax dollars to Big Abortion for one year. The Supreme Court ruled this week in Medina that states are also allowed to defund Big Abortion. This year, Congress can finally stop funding for Big Abortion – an industry that harms women and girls, destroys unborn babies’ lives and is a terrible investment for taxpayers.
“We’re going to defund Planned Parenthood,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said in a June 25 interview with Tony Perkins. “This will be the biggest win for your pro-life listeners since the Dobbs decision. So, I’m very proud of the work we’ve done on this bill.”
According to Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report, the organization killed more than babies in 400,000 abortions in 2023 and 2024 and received nearly $800 million from taxpayers.
The Hyde Amendment already prohibits federal funds from directly paying for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life. However, Planned Parenthood receives approximately $700 million annually through Medicaid reimbursements and Title X grants. Pro-life leaders argue this funding frees up resources for Planned Parenthood’s abortion operations.
The bill, which passed the House 215-214, aims to strip federal funding from the nation’s largest abortion company, a move pro-life advocates hail as a critical step toward protecting unborn lives.
The House-passed bill, now under Senate consideration, includes language to prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funds, including Medicaid payments, redirecting those resources to community health centers that do not kill babies.
However, the bill faces challenges in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim 53-seat majority, allowing only three defections with Vice President JD Vance’s tie-breaking vote.
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Author: Steven Ertelt
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