Republican senators urge Trump administration to restore 'Protect Life' rule

Republican senators are urging the Trump administration to reinstate the "Protect Life" rule in effect during his previous administration to prevent abortion facilities from receiving Title X funding.

Key Takeaways:

• During Trump's first administration, Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses were stripped of Title X funding under the "Protect Life" rule.

• Organizations which received federal Title X family planning dollars were required to keep their family planning services separate, both physically and fiscally, from their abortion-related business, and also could not refer for abortions.

• The "Protect Life" rule was disbanded under the Biden administration.

• Last year, the Trump administration temporarily withheld Title X funding from abortion businesses, but restored that funding in January.

• Republican senators have sent a letter to the Trump administration urging the "Protect Life" rule to be reinstated during Trump's second term.

The Backstory:

In 2019, during the first Trump administration, the "Protect Life" rule was put into place. Despite some legal fighting, it was eventually able to take effect, with abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood given extra time to separate their abortion services from their family planning services.

Under the rule, organizations receiving Title X funding for family planning services were required to keep these services separate, both physically and fiscally, from their abortion business. They were also barred from referring for abortions.

Despite receiving extra time to separate the services, Planned Parenthood elected to continue committing abortions, disqualifying itself from Title X funding, and rejecting $60 million a year.

However, President Biden disbanded the "Protect Life" rule when he took office.

When President Trump took office for a second term, the rule was not put back into place, though Trump did temporarily withhold Title X funding from abortion businesses in 2025.

Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion chain, was stripped of about $20 million annually. Yet in less than a year, the funding was quietly restored to affiliates.

Planned Parenthood Aids Child Sex Abuse

The Details:

In a press release, Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) announced that a letter had been sent encouraging the Trump administration to put the "Protect Life" rule back into place. It has been signed by Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). It has also received support from pro-life organizations including Live Action.

The letter reads:

During your first term in March 2019, your Administration proposed and finalized the Protect Life Rule. That Rule ensured that Title X family planning funds could no longer flow to clinics that perform, promote, or refer for abortions, and required clear physical and financial separation between Title X-funded projects and abortion facilities.

As a direct result, organizations such as Planned Parenthood were removed from the program when they refused to comply, redirecting those funds to community health centers and other providers that offer genuine family planning services without promoting abortion.

While the Biden-Harris Administration moved swiftly to undo this progress by rescinding the Rule, we stand ready to support your Administration in reinstating the policy by promulgating a new proposed rule with the same objective.

We further wish to note that the principles underlying the Protect Life Rule are firmly rooted in the text of Title X itself. Section 1008 of the Public Health Service Act has always prohibited the use of Title X funds “in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.” Your first Administration honored that statutory mandate; the Biden-Harris Administration abandoned it.

We believe this is an important moment, and we are committed to working alongside your Administration every step of the way. We stand prepared to support the rulemaking process. The American taxpayer should not be forced to be complicit in the taking of innocent life.

A copy of the letter was sent to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy as well as to President Trump.

The Bottom Line:

Taxpayers should not be forced to fund abortion, and Planned Parenthood specifically — with its many scandals and disregarding of rules that technically disqualify it from receiving federal funding — should be permanently disqualified from receiving taxpayer dollars.