The Trump administration plans to immediately freeze $27.5 million in the form of Title X family-planning grants to organizations, including Planned Parenthood, as it determines whether the taxpayer funds have been used for the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the move Tuesday, citing information from an agency spokesman within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
According to the WSJ, the organizations “that would be subject to the freeze include Planned Parenthood affiliates, the people familiar with the matter said.”
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“Altogether, the groups were set to get a total of about $120 million this year,” the report noted.
The Trump administration’s pro-life position has been apparent throughout the federal government, including in HHS.
On March 21, HHS celebrated World Down Syndrome Day, posting to X that the federal agency “celebrate[s] the incredible children and adults with Down syndrome and the families who love and support them.”
“Every life is precious, full of promise, and worthy of protection,” the Trump HHS added. “HHS is committed to supporting these families and ensuring easy access to the care and resources they deserve.”
Planned Parenthood facilities in about a dozen states were to have obtained about $20 million in Title X grants this year. Following the investigation, HHS could decide “to fully rescind the grants or reallocate the money to other organizations,” the WSJ observed.
President Donald Trump signed numerous executive orders that end DEI policies throughout the federal government.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, applauded the administration’s move to investigate Planned Parenthood’s Title X funding.
“I hope it will lead the Administration to permanently redirect the funding to real quality health care options, especially for women,” Smith said in a statement sent to CatholicVote.
“Planned Parenthood, which is ‘Child Abuse, Incorporated,’ dismembers or chemically poisons 1,000 babies every day, killing approximately 10 million innocent children since 1970,” Smith continued. “Yet it is subsidized by nearly $600 million in federal taxpayer dollars each year from multiple programs, including Title X.”
“For too long, politicians and much of the media have ignored, trivialized, and even defended the gross human rights abuses Planned Parenthood commits,” he added. “Title X was established to provide family planning, not subsidize those who perpetrate cruel and inhumane acts against an unborn baby—there is nothing benign or compassionate about killing a defenseless child.”
Alexis McGill-Johnson, CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, reportedly told the WSJ that “[t]he Trump-Vance-Musk administration wants to shut down Planned Parenthood health centers by any means necessary, and they’ll end people’s access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more to do it.”
During the last days of the Biden administration, Planned Parenthood furiously urged the then-Democrat-led Senate to confirm federal judges who would stymie the future Trump administration’s pro-life agenda:
LifeNews Note: Susan Berry writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
