Press secretary implies President Trump supports defunding Planned Parenthood

During a White House Press Briefing on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm that President Trump supports removing taxpayer dollars from “any institution,” including Planned Parenthood, that is providing ‘gender-affirming care’ to minors.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• While Leavitt did not directly state that President Trump supported “defunding Planned Parenthood,” she stated that he is committed to disallow tax dollars from funding any groups involved with offering ‘gender-affirming care’ to minors.

• Planned Parenthood is one of the leading providers of ‘gender-affirming care,’ even to minors, as a recent Live Action investigation confirmed.

• Planned Parenthood not only offers these ‘services’ to minors, but also expressed a desire to expand them among this age group.

THE DETAILS:

Daily Wire journalist and White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan asked Leavitt about the reconciliation bill, passed Thursday by the U.S. House and now in the Senate, where it could undergo changes:

On the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ I know that there’s a provision that the House included that defunds Planned Parenthood — not only because of the fact that it’s the nation’s largest abortion provider, but also because it’s, I think, the biggest distributor of transgender hormones right now, even to minors, according to Live Action. So, is the president committed to making sure that provision stays in in the Senate?

“The president has maintained a very clear commitment to ensuring that this administration and the American people’s tax dollars are not funding any institution, that includes hospital systems, that are funding the chemical castration and mutilation of children,” replied Leavitt. “We’re not going to tolerate taxpayer dollars going to such efforts.”

Last year, Planned Parenthood took in nearly $800 million of taxpayer funding. As previously reported by Live Action News, a Review of Evidence and Best Practices from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on “Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria” stated that Planned Parenthood is a “leading provider” of cross-sex hormones for young people.

It appears that Trump’s willingness to defund Planned Parenthood is, at least in part, a result of the abortion giant’s relatively new venture into providing cross-sex hormones to young adults and even minors, often on the same day of the initial appointment and without any mental health assessment.

THE BACKSTORY:

An undercover Live Action investigation exposed how readily Planned Parenthood prescribes hormones to young people as part of its new revenue stream.

Planned Parenthood Gave Her Testosterone at 16 — Paid For With Your Tax Dollars

An undercover journalist posing as a 16-year-old girl called Planned Parenthood facilities that offer ‘transgender services’ in eight one-party consent states/territories —Minnesota, Oregon, Maine, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Staff at seven of the 33 facilities contacted confirmed they would prescribe cross-sex hormones at the first appointment, even virtually.

“If it’s virtual, you’ll still meet with the doctor, and then go over, like, all necessary information, at the end, they will then be prescribing hormones that would then be prescripted out to, like, your local pharmacy,” a staff member at the Planned Parenthood in Mankato, Minnesota told the undercover journalist. Planned Parenthood assured the caller that on the same day (or at the latest, the following day) of her first appointment, she would be able to receive the hormones from her pharmacy.

At five of the facilities, staff said the 16-year-old did not need proof of having undergone therapy, mental health clearance, or prior documentation as part of a mental health assessment before Planned Parenthood would prescribe cross-sex hormones.

Planned Parenthood has stated that it is looking to expand such ‘services’ to minors.