The clock is ticking toward restoring Planned Parenthood’s funding

This week, millions of people will gather to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday. As we reflect on our nation’s founding principles, we are reminded of the timeless truths enshrined in our Declaration of Independence: that all men are created equal with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

For 250 years, Americans have worked to extend the blessings of life and liberty to those who had been denied them. Yet the fight to protect the most fundamental right, the right to life, remains unfinished. On the very day America celebrates, Planned Parenthood’s eligibility to receive taxpayer dollars will be restored.

Congress must act now to permanently defund Planned Parenthood.

Last year’s passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act represented a historic victory for the pro-life movement. For the first time, lawmakers successfully cut off federal funding through Medicaid for Planned Parenthood, freeing millions of people from being forced to subsidize an organization whose activities they find morally objectionable. It was an important step toward restoring conscience protections for taxpayers and ensuring that federal resources are not directed toward an institution built around ending human life.

Unfortunately, that victory came with an expiration date.

Unless Congress intervenes, Planned Parenthood will once again become eligible for substantial federal funding. For decades, the organization received hundreds of millions of dollars in government reimbursements and grants while simultaneously serving as the nation’s largest abortion provider. Millions of people believe that taxpayer dollars should not flow to an organization responsible for ending hundreds of thousands of unborn lives each year.

Planned Parenthood argues that federal funds do not directly pay for abortions. But this defense ignores a simple reality: money is fungible. Every dollar frees up resources that can be used elsewhere. No business or nonprofit operates with perfectly sealed-off accounts. It’s just reality. Taxpayer support subsidizes Planned Parenthood regardless of what their accountants say.

America is not faced with a choice between funding Planned Parenthood and abandoning women altogether. Thousands of federally qualified health centers, community clinics, rural health providers, and faith-based medical organizations offer comprehensive healthcare services without performing abortions.

In fact, community health centers vastly outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide and often serve populations with greater healthcare needs. People may disagree about many issues, but no citizen should be compelled to financially support an organization whose core activities violate deeply held convictions about the sanctity of human life.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser speaks during an anti-abortion rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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Planned Parenthood performed a record high of more than 400,000 abortions in a single year, according to its most recent annual report. While advocates continue to describe Planned Parenthood primarily as a healthcare provider, the data tell a different story.

Every day Congress delays action brings the nation one step closer to restoring taxpayer funding to an organization that many people believe should not receive a single public dollar. Lawmakers who campaigned on protecting life now have an opportunity to demonstrate that those commitments extend beyond campaign slogans and election-year promises. Permanent defunding would provide certainty to taxpayers, protect conscience rights, and prevent future Congresses from revisiting the issue year after year.

The one-year defunding provision enacted last year proved that meaningful reform is possible.

As America celebrates 250 years of freedom, Congress should remember the principle that stands at the very beginning of our national story. The Declaration of Independence does not present life as a privilege granted by government or a right reserved for the powerful. It identifies life as an inherent right bestowed by our Creator, a right that exists prior to politics and beyond the reach of government.

That principle carries obligations. A government committed to protecting unalienable rights should never compel its citizens to subsidize an industry built around ending innocent human life. Instead, it should direct resources toward providers that care for mothers, support families, and affirm the dignity of every person.

AMERICA AT 250: STILL. FUNDING ITS LARGEST ABORTION PROVIDER

America’s 250th birthday offers more than an opportunity for celebration. It offers an opportunity for reflection and action. If Congress truly believes in the self-evident truths proclaimed in 1776, it should act.

On our nation’s 250th birthday, lawmakers must reaffirm the first and most fundamental right recognized in our founding document: the right to life.

Tim Chapman is the president of Advancing American Freedom.