Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, filed an amendment April 22 seeking to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. The proposal failed to advance through the Senate hours later.
Hawley introduced the amendment as part of the Senate’s budget resolution process, according to a press release from his office. The proposal sought to extend an existing restriction that bars federal Medicaid payments from going to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. That restriction, enacted in 2025 under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” funding package, is set to expire on July 4.
“I filed an amendment this morning to BAN federal funding for Planned Parenthood,” Hawley said in an April 22 Facebook post announcing the move. “Hardworking Americans should not have to foot the bill for abortions or gender transitions. Congress must act now and pass my amendment.”
The senator has long advocated for ending taxpayer funding for abortion providers. Speaking on the Senate floor April 22, Hawley said his amendment poses “a simple and direct question.”
“Should we use federal tax dollars to pay for transgender surgeries and treatments for minor children?” he asked. “More specifically, should we divert money from Medicaid — a program that is dedicated to the most needy among us — and use it instead to pay for risky, dangerous, irreversible transgender drugs and surgeries for minor children?”
🚨 Sen. Josh Hawley files to completely ban taxpayer dollars from funding Planned Parenthood and transgender surgeries and therapies:
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) April 23, 2026
"This is wrong... This is a terrible misuse of federal funds and we should put a stop to it today."
Defund Planned Parenthood! pic.twitter.com/WJgPGIqa3O
On April 23, Hawley said on X that the Senate had rejected his amendment during an overnight “vote-a-rama” session. He called the vote “indefensible” and urged House Republicans to act immediately to stop federal funding of Planned Parenthood “or billions of tax $$ will be spent on trans drugs for kids.”
According to official Senate roll call records, the Senate voted 50-48 against a motion to waive budget rules, falling short of the 60 votes required and preventing the amendment from advancing.
CatholicVote Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky told Zeale News that the organization “supported and scored the amendment” but said the effort was unlikely to succeed from the outset.
“While I applaud Hawley for doing it,” McClusky said, “I wish there were even one member of Congress who would say, ‘I will oppose the whole bill unless we defund the abortion industry.’”
>> Planned Parenthood reports performing a record 434,450 abortions in latest annual report <<