Why the Trump Administration Restored Funding to Planned Parenthood

Last week, the Trump administration disappointed the pro-life conservatives by restoring millions of dollars in federal funds to the left-aligned healthcare organization Planned Parenthood that is infamous for pushing and performing abortions nationwide and abroad. The backlash from conservatives didn’t make headlines but those concerned are looking for answers.

Politico reported (January 13) that the current Department of Human and Health Services (HHS) quietly released tens of millions of dollars in federal funds to Planned Parenthood last month. Accordingly, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration. The story explained that this money, released under the Title X family planning funds, is a small fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars cut from the federal funding to Planned Parenthood by the Congress last year.

LifeSite News reported (January 14) on the story revealing the amount of $20 million that was restored to Planned Parenthood out of the $120 million that was frozen in federal funding by the Congress. The story wrote that despite the relatively small amount of the restored funds to the pro-abortion organization, this development has come at “a particularly sensitive moment in relations between the White House and the pro-life movement.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reportedly denied any change in the administration’s position on federal funding for abortions.

In an article published in The Daily Signal (January 14), Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell addressed the reason Trump’s HHS restored part of the federal funds to Planned Parenthood. Citing Tom McClusky, the pro-life director of government affairs at CatholicVote, the article explained that it was the only choice left with the HHS that was almost certain to lose in the court against the ACLU. In the words of McClusky:

“They were virtually certain to lose the lawsuit, forcing them to repay the full amount plus interest and cover attorneys’ fees. Even worse, continuing the litigation would have entangled any future funding cuts—which are highly likely under the new regulations—in prolonged court battles before an unsympathetic judge.”

But the article did cite McClusky commenting that the Trump administration could have prevented this setback if it had restored the Protect Life Rule that was put into effect during the first Trump administration but was rescinded by the Biden administration. That rule prevented Title X funding to any recipient that either refers or encourages abortion. Failing to restore the rule resulted in victory for the leftist abortion groups.

National Catholic Register (January 14) pointed out that this restored funding will not directly cover abortions but it subsidizes Planned Parenthood, an organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions every year. The interesting and at the same time concerning part of this whole story is that neither President Trump nor Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seem to have knowledge of the restoration of these funds to Planned Parenthood. Both were asked about it on Wednesday and their answers expressed ignorance of the matter.