House budget bill includes pro-life protections

A section of the new House budget package would end taxpayer funding of elective abortions, the March for Life pro-life advocacy group said in a Monday statement. The House Energy and Commerce Committee released its plan, part of the “big, beautiful bill” requested by President Donald Trump, on Sunday night. The pro-life provision is tucked into a section involving changes to Medicaid.

March for Life said the money will be redirected to community-based qualified health providers that care for the health of both women and unborn children. The bill doesn’t specify where funds will be directed, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said last month that the money would go to what he characterized as federally qualified health centers, according to Fox News.

What does the bill’s text say? It prohibits Medicaid funds from being paid to nonprofit organizations that primarily provide family planning services and abortions and which received $1 million or more in Medicaid payments last year. The bill makes exceptions for facilities that only provide abortions in cases of rape, incest, or a threat to the mother’s life.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s breakdown of the other changes the bill would make to Medicaid.