WASHINGTON (BP) – A budget reconciliation bill defunding Planned Parenthood and enacting several other Southern Baptist priorities was signed into law Friday (July 4) by President Trump.
The bill’s passage ends a months-long reconciliation period in which Congress drafted, intensely debated and eventually passed the legislation, which will defund Planned Parenthood and all related entities for a full year.
Abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood are listed in the bill as prohibited entities that cannot receive federal payments, including Medicaid reimbursements. The bill also includes several other Southern Baptist policy priorities, such as an increase in the child tax credit.
Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, specifically praised the defunding of Planned Parenthood, a long-held goal for Southern Baptists and the ERLC’s highest legislative priority.
“Establishing a true culture of life begins with stopping our taxpayer money from funding Planned Parenthood. That’s just what Congress has done,” Leatherwood said in a Thursday press release.
“The ERLC congratulates Congress on the passage of this important reconciliation bill, which includes critical pro-life and pro-family policies. With both chambers now voting to defund Planned Parenthood for the first time in our nation’s history, this is a truly historic milestone for the sanctity of life. Although this provision is limited to one year, it lays the foundation for future action to prevent any taxpayer funding from being directed to the abortion industry.
“The pro-life movement spent half a century striving to overturn Roe. We will bring that same resolve toward shaping proposals to ensure not a single federal dollar will ever again subsidize the destruction of life.”
The budget reconciliation process – during which Congress can evaluate its budget and make changes such as revising debt limits, addressing federal spending and adjusting tax policy – has been ongoing since February.
The House passed itd version of the reconciliation bill in late May.
The Senate then passed its amended version Tuesday (July 2) by one vote. Out of 53 Senate Republicans, three voted against the legislation, resulting in a 50-50 tie. Vice President J.D. Vance cast the deciding vote.
The legislation then returned to the House for another vote to approve the amendments made in the Senate. The House approved the final version Thursday (July 3), sending it to the president’s desk. All but two House Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
In January (right before the reconciliation process began), the ERLC released its priorities for budget legislation, which included four of the policies included in the final reconciliation bill.
Those four policies priorities were:
- Defunding Planned Parenthood
- Increasing the Child Tax Credit
- Improving the Adoption Tax Credit
- Supporting a Universal Charitable Deduction
This recent reconciliation process presented a unique opportunity to advocate for Southern Baptist priorities.
The significance of a budget reconciliation bill is that it lowers the vote threshold to move forward with a vote, or invoke cloture, in the Senate from 60 members to a simple majority of 51. Under the current breakdown of Congress, a budget reconciliation bill could have passed both chambers of Congress without any Democrat support, which is exactly what happened.
The ERLC has been active during the reconciliation period, scheduling meetings on Capitol Hill and with the Trump administration to promote its priorities.
In February, Leatherwood urged House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Frank Pallone to use the reconciliation process to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund Planned Parenthood.
He also wrote a national op-ed highlighting Planned Parenthood’s activities and imploring lawmakers to defund the organization.
In May, the ERLC led a diverse group of Southern Baptist pastors and ethnic fellowship leaders on two advocacy trips to Washington to discuss Southern Baptist policy priorities for the reconciliation bill with their elected leaders. A major focus of those meetings was defunding Planned Parenthood.
An ERLC campaign calling on Congress to defund Planned Parenthood was signed by more than 30,000 pro-life advocates, including Leatherwood and many other Southern Baptist leaders. Leatherwood hand delivered the initial 10,000 signatures of the letter to Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) in Washington.
Beyond the ERLC, many pro-life organizations and Southern Baptists made their voices heard regarding their desire to see Planned Parenthood defunded.
Last week (June 28) as the reconciliation bill went to Senate, thousands took part in more than 200 demonstrations nationwide calling on Congress to defund the organization.
Labeled “Defund Day,” the protests included advocates such as Live Action President Lila Rose and Ellen O’Donnell, a member of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., who helped organize an event in nearby Marietta.
Pro-lifers were riding the momentum from the June 26 Supreme Court ruling in Medina v. Planned Parenthood, which upheld the right of states to defund the organization by preventing abortion clinics from participating in state-funded Medicaid programs.
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, has received at least $700 million in federal funding annually, essentially subsidizing thousands of abortions. Some news outlets estimate PP could be forced to close up to 200 locations nationwide after losing federal funding.
Leatherwood summarized the voice of thousands of pro-life advocates.
“With the President’s signature, today marks a new milestone for the pro-life movement,” he said in a Friday press release.
“Those of us who have been consistently working and advocating for the sanctity of life for decades are now beginning to see the fruit of our efforts. We have brought forth generational victories with executive action, in the courts and now, finally, through the legislative process. I want to thank the President, the Speaker, the Senate Majority Leader, and all the members of Congress who helped make this a reality that few imagined possible not long ago.
“But I also want to offer my personal gratitude to the many Southern Baptists who have been so courageous in boldly and publicly proclaiming what we know to be true about life: Each of us is made in the image of our Creator. As a result, every life is precious and deserves to be protected by the law. We are closer to fully achieving that principle today than we were yesterday. That is truly a cause for celebration on this, our Independence Day.”
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