Planned Parenthood "is the nation's leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care for all people, as well as the nation's largest provider of sex education." Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA) "is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports independently incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates, which operate nonprofit health centers across the U.S." These affiliates "are separately incorporated 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that provide essential care to 2.1 million patients annually." This "essential care" includes performing abortions, making Planned Parenthood the largest abortion provider in the United States.

Thanks to the Hyde Amendment, federal Medicaid funds cannot be used to pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman's life is endangered. However, because Planned Parenthood performs a broad range of family planning and preventive health services, it has — thanks to Republicans in Congress — received federal funding almost every year since 1970. The problem with this is that Planned Parenthood's funds are fungible, meaning money allocated to other reproductive health services simply frees up its other funds to provide abortions.

On July 4 of last year, Republicans passed President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). According to the bill summary, "This bill reduces taxes, reduces or increases spending for various federal programs, increases the statutory debt limit, and otherwise addresses agencies and programs throughout the federal government."

One of the programs addressed by the OBBBA was Medicaid. The bill institutes federal work requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients, requires Medicaid recipients making above the federal poverty line to pay more fees to receive certain care, tightens Medicaid eligibility requirements, eliminates Medicaid coverage of certain procedures, institutes provisions to reduce improper Medicaid payments, and makes it harder for those in the country illegally to receive Medicaid.

The OBBBA also contained a provision to defund Planned Parenthood for one year by barring Medicaid funding for tax-exempt organizations that are "primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care" if they provide abortions (except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman's life is endangered) and received more than $800,000 in Medicaid funds during fiscal year 2023. Planned Parenthood organizations sued and successfully blocked the provision until September 2025.

Now that Planned Parenthood is once again eligible to receive federal funds, therefore, it bears repeating why the organization should not receive such funds—and the reasons for defunding the organization have nothing to do with abortion.