Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced Monday it will resume killing babies in abortions after a nearly month-long pause, a move pro-life advocates decried as a return to the “grisly business” of ending unborn lives
The resumption comes amid ongoing legal battles over a federal defunding measure signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, which bars Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving Medicaid reimbursements due to their abortions.
To skirt the restriction and maintain billing for non-abortion care, the Wisconsin affiliate relinquished its federal Essential Community Provider status, allowing it to separate abortion operations from Medicaid-funded services.
During the pause, which began after a federal appeals court ruling on September 11 enforced the defunding provision pending further review, Planned Parenthood stopped killing babies. Pro-life leaders warn the restart could lead to thousands more unborn children lost annually, as the group prioritizes abortion as its core revenue driver.
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“We’ve known for 90 years that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin was never an essential community provider. Now they have made it official, so they can resume killing babies while still receiving our tax dollars to operate their grisly business,” said Dan Miller, state director of Pro-Life Wisconsin.
The Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2025, passed by Congress and enacted as part of a larger budget reconciliation bill, imposes a one-year moratorium on federal funding to the organization and its affiliates. It specifically prohibits Medicaid payments to nonprofits that do abortions and received more than $800,000 in federal funds in 2023, aiming to redirect resources to community health centers that do not also kill babies.
A preliminary injunction from a federal judge in July had temporarily defunding, deeming it likely unconstitutional. But the appeals court’s decision to stay that order forced compliance, prompting the pause.
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services court filing on September 29 outlined pathways for affiliates like Wisconsin’s to retain Medicaid access by forgoing provider status.
Pro-life advocates, however, see the pause’s end as proof the measure’s bite was real but temporary, urging Congress to make the cuts permanent to save countless lives.
In simple terms: The federal defunding bill (H.R. 271, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2025) doesn’t ban abortions or seize all of Planned Parenthood’s money—it just stops federal tax dollars (mainly through Medicaid) from going to clinics that do them. Medicaid already can’t pay for abortions (except in rare cases like rape or life endangerment, per the Hyde Amendment since 1977). But the bill says: If a clinic performs abortions, it can’t bill Medicaid at all, even not abortion-related, to ensure defunding.
To keep getting Medicaid money for non-abortion stuff, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin gave up a special “provider” label that tied its whole operation together. Now, they run abortions separately, paid for by private gifts, abortion sales revenue, and other non-government cash. Abortions bring in big bucks—enough to keep going strong despite the funding hit.
The downside for the abortion giant is that it may have a more difficult time getting insurance companies to cover non-abortion things without the special status.
