The ERLC joined pro-life coalition partners in a letter to congressional leadership urging an extension for the policy provision defunding large abortion providers.
What did the letter say?
This coalition letter urges House and Senate leadership to initiate a third reconciliation bill to address the impending expiration of the provision defunding large abortion providers. It argues that this should be Congress’ immediate priority, now that the terms, scope, and toplines of the second DHS-related reconciliation bill have been established.
This letter makes the argument that extending the moratorium is fiscally responsible. It highlights the ways that Planned Parenthood and large abortion providers use taxpayer dollars for treatments and procedures that are objectively detrimental to human life, specifying the harm toward women.
The letter spends a few paragraphs highlighting the beneficial work of pro-life pregnancy centers. By contrast, these centers provide highly accessible, compassionate, comprehensive care to pregnant women.
Why is this timely?
On July 4, 2026, the defund provision will expire, causing Medicaid reimbursement funding to once again flow to Planned Parenthood and other large abortion providers for the non-abortive services they offer. While this is not a direct funding of abortion, since money is fungible, these revenue streams free up dollars for Planned Parenthood and others to promote and provide abortions.
Stripping abortion providers of Medicaid reimbursements through a prohibition in reconciliation is the avenue by which abortionists would lose the most money. They are funded by other streams of taxpayer dollars, like the Title X program, but Medicaid is the largest source of funding.
Why does this matter to Southern Baptists?
Southern Baptists affirm the sanctity of every human life, including the preborn. Scripture testifies that every person is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and that life begins at conception (Ps. 139:13-16). The Baptist Faith and Message proclaims that children, from the moment of conception, are “a blessing and heritage from the Lord.” As followers of Christ, we are called to advocate for protecting vulnerable lives and oppose organizations and practices that undermine the value of life.
Southern Baptists have consistently opposed the funding of Planned Parenthood through resolutions adopted at SBC annual meetings. In 2017, messengers approved the resolution “On Defunding and Investigating Planned Parenthood,” calling for the organization to be stripped of taxpayer dollars and subjected to greater scrutiny. In 2021, Southern Baptists reaffirmed their opposition to taxpayer complicity in abortion through the resolution “On Taxpayer Complicity in Abortion and the Hyde Amendment.” Most recently, in 2022, the resolution “On Anticipation of a Historic Moment in the Pro-life Movement” reiterated the need to protect life at every level of government.
