Top Catholic Bishop: Planned Parenthood Must Be Defunded Again

The top pro-life bishop for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging Congress to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business once again this year.

Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wants Congress to block Planned Parenthood from receiving millions more in taxpayer dollars through the Title X family planning program.

Bishop Thomas threw his support behind the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act in a May 8 letter to the bill’s sponsors. The legislation would permanently prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services from awarding Title X grants to any entity that performs abortions.

“We have consistently called for the separation of abortion from the Title X family planning program, but organizations like Planned Parenthood, despite performing hundreds of thousands of abortions every year, continue to receive millions of dollars in taxpayer money annually,” Bishop Thomas wrote.

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He added: “This legislation would build upon Congress’s efforts to end access to taxpayer funding for one of the nation’s largest abortion providers, as was done with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Abortion has no place in a taxpayer-funded program. This legislation would further solidify the intended statutory distinction and would safeguard the integrity of federal health programs.”

The bill, introduced in the Senate by Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Todd Young, R-Ind., and in the House by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., builds directly on a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that barred Medicaid funds from going to health providers that also perform abortions. That restriction, which took effect after Planned Parenthood sued to block it, is scheduled to expire July 4.

Senator Todd Young emphasized that the legislation restores Title X to its original purpose.

“Title X was designed to provide moms and children with necessary family planning services, not fund abortions,” Young said. “This legislation will protect life and ensure taxpayer dollars are protected from taking innocent lives.”

Other Republican co-sponsors echoed the call to shield public funds from abortion.

Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama said taxpayers “shouldn’t have their hard-earned dollars used to fund elective abortions.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn stressed the need to close loopholes that have permitted shared facilities and referrals between Title X clinics and abortion services.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana described the bill as ending subsidies to “abortion businesses that kill unborn babies and hurt mothers.”

The legislation has drawn support from major pro-life organizations including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, March for Life Action and National Right to Life.