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Politics & Policy

Defund Planned Parenthood, Already — and Show How Life-Giving a Nation We Can Be

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A woman holds a placard as pro-life demonstrators gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C,
A woman holds a placard as pro-life demonstrators gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C, January 24, 2025. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

The House voted to defund Planned Parenthood for ten years. This weekend, we learned that the Senate version of the “Big Beautiful Bill” will only commit to a year without taxpayer funding going to the abortion giant. This is still the closest Congress has come to defunding Planned Parenthood, period, so pro-life groups will take it as a win — albeit not as enthusiastically as the House iteration.

On social media Saturday morning, Kristan Hawkins from Students for Life wondered why senators simply wouldn’t commit to more just to keep the “Defund Planned Parenthood” campaigns away:

Hawkins was taking time away from a pro-life Celebrate Life weekend in D.C. Also, over the weekend, about 5,000 people showed up outside of Planned Parenthoods for Live Action-organized defund rallies. Signs focused on both the abortion aspect of the abortion giant and the gender-transition work they do now, too.

Students for Life and the Celebrate Life Weekend, by the way, had what they were dubbing the U.S.’s biggest diaper drive:

I was at a perfunctory Defund rally in lower Manhattan Saturday morning, outside the former flagship center (the one once named after Margaret Sanger) that is among the Planned Parenthoods that are supposed to be shutting down. For now, though, they are still providing chemical abortions and puberty blockers on Bleecker Street — and referrals for more.

Saturdays used to be a big surgical abortion day there — you’ve seen some of the confrontations over the years covered here and elsewhere when abortion activists and other progressive/anarchist New Yorkers would protest a monthly prayer vigil. But it’s now closed on Saturdays.

There was a security guard keeping watch, half inside/half outside, occasionally telling the small group of pro-lifers to keep their signs from leaning against the side of the building. (Two counter-rally-ers with homemade signs halfheartedly told passersby “Planned Parenthood is health care. Planned Parenthood does not kill babies.” Those who bothered to stop must have heard “babies” and appeared ready to argue, until they realized they were on the same side.)

One of the Live Action signs did mention Planned Parenthood killing babies. If you’ve got even the homemade sign gals on the defensive, that’s probably a street-corner communications win. So, too, with the woman who decided to confiscate signs leaning on a tree. She walked away carrying the defund Planned Parenthood message until she dumped them. And if she didn’t destroy them . . .

Manhattan wasn’t the most happening rally, but there were scenes on social media from some better attended demonstrations.

I’m told Pullman, Wash., and Orange County, Calif., had the largest turnouts (80-100):

Meridian, Idaho:

Mariette, Ga.:

Louisville. Ky.:

And this lady is preaching and should be heard far and wide:

Cincinnati, Ohio:

Bend, Ore.:

D.C.:

Morristown, N.J.:

Alaska:

Albuquerque, N.M.:

San Francisco (you get points for bravery there):

From the look and feel of many of the rallies, these were some of the same men and women who are regulars — offering pro-life counseling (otherwise known as options that are not abortion — actual choice) and prayers — outside Planned Parenthood. Ever since Dobbs, people ask: Will the March for Life continue in January? Yes, it will. Because Roe happened and we cannot erase it from our history. Because D.C. needs to be reminded America is and should be better than abortion. High school and college students need to know lives are impacted — and ended — because of decisions in D.C. The March for Life is a name-brand organization that can get people moving. I’ve never known pro-life rallies to work how rallies appear to on the left. First, we don’t tend to pay people. Second, we don’t wake up in the morning, decide we’re unhappy, and look to join a protest. I generalize, but that’s the difference I’ve seen over the years.

The March for Life, by the way, has state marches in addition to the D.C. one. Because we are free to have the debate in the states thanks to Dobbs. And so we do.

And, yes, Congress should Defund Planned Parenthood. And Congress and the states and the rest of us — civil society and every single one of us — should be inundating people with resources for life.

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