Pro-Life Org Protests Renewed Federal Funding Of Abortion

Members of Live Action’s “Defund Planned Parenthood Coalition” assembled Thursday outside the United States Capitol with Pro-Life members of Congress to protest the resumption of federal funding to abortion giant Planned Parenthood.

Last year, Republicans passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which paused federal Medicaid funds from going toward Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. Despite the U.S. House of Representatives passing a 10-year restriction on abortion funds, federal funding to Planned Parenthood was only cut off for one year.

“That was a win. It was one of the most significant pro-life victories Congress has delivered since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade,” said Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., in his speech at the event. “But it did not go far enough. Protecting life should never have an expiration date.”

Pro-life members of Congress, including Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.), Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.), and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), came and spoke at the event to show their support in ending taxpayer-funded abortion.

“It is absolutely unacceptable and indefensible that a Republican Congress would fund Planned Parenthood. I’m here today to say, not on my watch,” Sen. Hawley said in his speech. “I can’t emphasize enough the moral consequence and the moral significance of the moment that we stand at. There is no excuse, none, for Planned Parenthood to be receiving taxpayer money to be carrying out the mutilation of our children and the murder of the innocent unborn.”

Despite no federal funds for the past 12 months, a recent investigation by the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that as of June 2026 Planned Parenthood “has nearly 600 locations across the country” that “collectively provided a record 434,450 abortions (an increase of over 8 percent from the previous fiscal year)” and “2,268,991 contraceptive services.”

Planned Parenthood is also a crucial component of the $4.5 billion transgender-industrial complex. More Planned Parenthood affiliates offer irreversible sex change hormones and “sex-rejecting procedures” than they do abortion.

Planned Parenthood received $2.143 billion in revenue during fiscal year 2024-2025 according to their annual report, with 39 percent of total funds coming from “Government Health Services Reimbursements & Grants.”

In six fiscal years, the organization’s overall revenue has increased by over $500 million.

“Congress should redirect taxpayer dollars to health centers that provide comprehensive care without performing abortions,” John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life said at the event. “Women deserve real care, not a system that routes public funds to organizations whose abortion numbers continue to rise.”

Mize shared that for every Planned Parenthood facility in the country, there are 39 pregnancy centers and three clinics willing and able to provide women with real choice and compassionate care.

Claire Ath, Senior Policy Analyst Human Coalition, also emphasized the important role that pregnancy clinics have in supporting new mothers in keeping their babies, something that Planned Parenthood does not.

“We have served hundreds of thousands of moms facing unexpected pregnancies and we’ve learned that most women don’t actually want an abortion,” Ath said in an address to the gathered media. “They’re looking for an abortion because they’re terrified that no one is going to be there to help.”

The concerns surrounding the increased and easy access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, were also addressed.

Christina Bennett, who emceed the event for LiveAction, was almost aborted in the womb, but her mother chose life. After finding out about her mother’s courageous decision in college, she became a vocal advocate for the pro-life cause.

“The law was saying that it was legal for my mom to dismember me. It shouldn’t be legal for someone to do that,” Bennett told The Federalist. “And if it is legal, which it is in some states like my own, it shouldn’t be paid for through taxpayer dollars. It’s an injustice. We’re hoping that Congress will act, and we’re very grateful there are some people in Congress that are working to take some action.”

Bennett told The Federalist that mail-in abortion pills pose a “new battleground” for the pro-life cause ever since the Dobbs decision.

The medication guide for mifepristone says, “about 2 to 7 out of 100 women will need a surgical procedure because the pregnancy did not completely pass from the uterus or to stop bleeding.”

Bennett says that most women are unaware of the life-threatening damage the pill can cause. The seven percent of women who experience life-altering complications are not well documented to the public.

“[Planned Parenthood] doesn’t have accurate records,” Bennett told The Federalist. “So these stories are not even heard of and people don’t know about them.”

Shanyce Thomas, a speaker at the press conference, spoke about how mifepristone almost killed her and stole her ability to have children.

“The abortion pill was often described as a simple, safe solution. Something routine and low risk,” Thomas said. “That was not my reality. For me, the abortion pill nearly cost me my life and the consequences will stay with me forever.”

In 2020 at the age of 19, Thomas took the pill. She went to a clinic at Planned Parenthood for help after being in severe pain for two days with heavy bleeding. The “providers” told her everything was fine and sent her home.

“After taking the abortion pill, my body began to shut down,” Thomas said. “Something I was told would be manageable turned into a life-threatening medical emergency.”

Thomas developed a severe infection behind her uterus, and her condition deteriorated rapidly. She became so unstable due to severe blood loss and complications from the infection that if she were placed in a helicopter for transfer she likely would have died. An ambulance brought her to Hartford Healthcare Hospital where she was placed in a medically induced coma. The damage to her uterus was so extreme, the doctor had to perform a partial hysterectomy.

“In one moment, my ability to carry children in the future was taken from me, not by choice, but by necessity to save my life,” Thomas said. “I took the abortion pill because I was scared and pressure by my boyfriend to end my child’s life and in that process, I almost lost my life as well.”

Bennett says that there is not a huge public outcry against Planned Parenthood being defunded. “It’s not as if there’s huge public pressure for them to get back funding,” Bennett told The Federalist. “You rarely hear about it. When in the news have you really heard people being super offended about Planned Parenthood being defunded?”

Just after their federal funding resumed, Planned Parenthood announced it will spend $47 million on the November midterm elections with the sole purpose of unseating the Republicans who voted to cut off the organization from federal funding last year. Meaning, for every $20 that Planned Parenthood receives from taxpayers it will spend $1 on politics.

“We Decide” campaign from Planned Parenthood Votes — an independent Super PAC affiliated with Planned Parenthood — will target ads and voter outreach in battleground House races in Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as reported by The Hill.

Libby Bandelin is a reporting and editing intern at The Federalist with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. A recent graduate from Dordt University, she earned her B.A. in communications with an emphasis in journalism and a minor in criminal justice. In college, she served as chief editor for her student newspaper, and her writing won third place in the 2026 Cordell Prize. She’s also attended journalism intensives with WORLD newsgroup and Alliance Defending Freedom.