Report: Alaska used tax dollars for elective abortions against federal law

According to the Alaska Watchman, Alaska used federal Medicaid tax dollars to pay for elective abortions for several months following the enactment of the Big Beautiful Bill (HR 1), which prohibited the funds for abortion providers (like Planned Parenthood) which met certain criteria.

Key Takeaways:

• On July 4, 2025, HR 1 prohibited abortion-providing nonprofits that took in more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in 2023 from receiving federal Medicaid funding for one year.

• Some states did not follow the law, as a legal challenge was filed to block the provision of HR 1. However, on September 11, a court ruled that Medicaid funding could be withheld as the case moved forward.

• Alaska, however, continued to give Planned Parenthood federal Medicaid dollars until November 5, 2025, when Alaska Right to Life Director Pat Martin put pressure on the government to halt the payments.

• The federal Medicaid funds given to Planned Parenthood in Alaska will be rescinded, but it remains unclear if Alaska state Medicaid funding will give Planned Parnethood the money.

The Details:

The Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025, stripping certain organizations and businesses of federal Medicaid funding for one year, as long as they continued to commit abortions. However, the State of Alaska is alleged to have used Medicaid funding to pay for abortions until November 5, 2025, four months after the law was signed and a month following the absolute deadline for businesses like Planned Parenthood to stop receiving federal Medicaid payouts.

Many states followed the law immediately, but others waited to see how a legal challenge to the law played out in court. On September 11, however, a U.S. Appeals court ruled that Medicaid funding could be barred as the case moved forward. Yet, Alaska continued to give the payments to Planned Parenthood until the director of Alaska Right to Life, Pat Martin, stepped in, putting pressure on government officials to put a stop to the payments.

As explained by the Alaska Watchman:

Due to a provision in the bill, abortion-providing 501(c)(3) nonprofits that took in more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in 2023 are ineligible to receive any Medicaid funding until July 4, 2026. Since Alaska-based Planned Parenthood affiliates are part of a larger multi-state nonprofit that received tens of millions in Medicaid dollars, they are now temporarily ineligible to get reimbursements through Alaska’s Medicaid program for any and all services they provide, including non-abortion services.

Following a state-conducted analysis of federal requirements, Alaska Health Department Communications Director Shirley Sakaye told Alaska Watchman that Planned Parenthood's Medicaid funding was put "on hold effective November 5, 2025, for all services."

She said Medicaid payments issued to Planned Parenthood through November 5 will be rescinded, but it is unclear if Alaska state funds will be used to reimburse Planned Parenthood instead.

Why It Matters:

Alaska appears to have a history of blurring the line to give Planned Parenthood taxpayer dollars.

According to the Alaska Watchman, the state's Medicaid program, which is funded by both state and federal taxpayer dollars, has used its annual state-funded Medicaid contributions to reimburse Planned Parenthood for elective abortions over the last two decades as a workaround to the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions unless the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or the mother's life is in danger.

Alaska law defines abortion as:

“the use or prescription of an instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, except that ‘abortion’ does not include the termination of a pregnancy if done with the intent to: (A) save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child; (B) deliver the unborn child prematurely to preserve the health of both the pregnant woman and the woman’s child; or (C) remove a dead unborn child.”   

In 2001, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in State v. Planned Parenthood of Alaska, Inc. that it is a violation of the state Constitution for the state to pay for live births but not abortions. It ordered Alaska to pay for abortions through Medicaid if they were deemed "medically necessary." Yet, in 2024, taxpayers paid for 43% of all abortions in Alaska through its Medicaid program, DenaliCare.

Planned Parenthood will also continue to receive funding through the Alaska Health Department's Alaska Breast and Cervical Screening Assistance Program. But money is fungible, and any funds given to Planned Parenthood help to indirectly fund abortion.