159 Lawmakers Ask President Trump to Defund Planned Parenthood Again

Some 159 lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to restore the Protect Life Rule, which would block Title X family planning funds from subsidizing abortions at Planned Parenthood and other abortion companies.

In a letter dated May 28 and addressed to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the coalition of 41 senators and 118 representatives called for restoring “a bright line of separation” between taxpayer-funded family planning services and abortion.

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention joined the effort.

“History confirms that without the Protect Life Rule, Title X serves as a funding stream for the abortion industry. For example, between 2013 and 2015, Title X funds made up over $170 million of Planned Parenthood’s expenditures,” the lawmakers stated in the letter.

It continued: “Restoring these critical reforms is not without precedent; regulations requiring the physical separation of abortion activities and prohibiting abortion referrals were promulgated under President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 1991.”

HELP LIFENEWS SAVE BABIES FROM ABORTION! Please help LifeNews.com with a donation!

The Protect Life Rule, implemented during President Trump’s first term, required complete physical and financial separation between Title X clinics and facilities that perform or refer for abortions. Planned Parenthood withdrew from the program rather than comply.

The Biden administration suspended and revised the rule, allowing abortion sellers back in and mandating referrals for abortions.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, led the letter along with Reps. Ron Estes, R-Kan., and Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.

Among the signers were House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

Supporting organizations that helped gather signatures included Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, National Right to Life, March for Life Action, Students for Life Action, Concerned Women for America and Catholic Vote.

The Title X program is the only dedicated source of federal funding for family planning services to low-income individuals, supporting preventive care such as cancer screenings, STI prevention, HIV services and contraceptive services at health centers nationwide. ERLC President Evan Lenow said restoring the rule is essential.

“Currently, the federal government cannot pay for abortions or abortion-related counseling, but this rule would go one step further,” Lenow said. “Beyond prohibiting the federal funding of abortion, this rule also bars the funding of entities that offer these horrendous services.”