Seven Democrat states have pledged tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to prop up Planned Parenthood amid federal defunding under Congress and President Donald Trump. The move is drawing sharp condemnation from pro-life advocates who say the states are propping up the nation’s biggest abortion company.
The taxpayer-funding commitments from New York, California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts and Hawaii come in response to a one-year moratorium on Medicaid reimbursements for nonprofits that kill babies in abortions, enacted as part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” signed in July.
The law bars such organizations from federal funding if they received more than $800,000 in 2023, aiming to redirect resources away from abortion corporations like Planned Parenthood.
Frank Schubert, a strategist with the pro-life group Team Beyond Roe, decried the state actions as a “shocking new front” in the battle for innocent lives, accusing the “abortion lobby” of securing powerful allies to replace every lost federal dollar.
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“No longer is the fight just about legal rights. Now we must battle forced public-subsidy of abortion. Your tax dollars are being redirected so the slaughter continues,” Schubert said in a statement highlighting Planned Parenthood’s reported 402,200 abortions in the 2023-24 fiscal year, a record high that equates to more than 1,100 babies killed daily.
Government reimbursements and grants accounted for about 40% of Planned Parenthood’s roughly $2 billion in revenue that year, fueling outrage among critics who argue the funds indirectly subsidize abortions despite federal restrictions under the Hyde Amendment.
California led with the largest infusion, as Gov. Gavin Newsom announced over $140 million in state funding to sustain more than 100 health centers serving over a million patient visits annually.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul followed suit, directing $35 million to cover the full year’s Medicaid shortfall for the abortion giant.
Massachusetts allocated $2 million through Gov. Maura Healey, Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka to kill more babies.
Washington committed to backfilling at least $11 million in lost federal Medicaid dollars, part of the $22 million the state affiliate receives annually.
Illinois, Oregon and Hawaii rounded out the group, with state leaders joining a coalition of 21 attorneys general—including those from the seven states—in an October amicus brief supporting Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against the defunding. In Oregon, affiliates stand to lose $15 million to $18 million yearly, while Hawaii was among the first to pledge funds following earlier Trump-era cuts
The legal battle continues, with briefings set for November in federal appeals court.
Schubert framed the stakes as existential: “This isn’t just politics—it’s a fight for the weakest and most vulnerable among us.”
