Republicans Are Using the Entire Government to Defund Planned Parenthood This Year

Efforts to defund Planned Parenthood are moving through Congress, the executive branch and the courts.

Protestors attend a "Defund Planned Parenthood" rally
Opponents of the organization feel they are well on their way to achieving what they’ve been trying to do for decades. Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA via AP

Anti-abortion leaders and their allies in Congress believe 2025 is the year they will finally succeed in their goal to fully strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood — one way or another.

Even without legislation moving through Congress, opponents of the organization feel they are well on their way to achieving what they’ve been trying to do for decades now that the Trump administration is able to use federal agencies to cut off funding. But it helps that congressional anti-abortion allies are pushing to defund Planned Parenthood through the massive budget bill leaders are hoping to pass this year.

“There’s a unique lining up of the planets. When you think about, you know, trifecta, the reconciliation bill,which doesn’t come along every day, the determination of the Republican leadership,” Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, told NOTUS. “Everyone we talked to is like, there was not even any hesitation, ‘Yes, we want to get this done, we’re going to get this done.’”