Congress Must Stop Mail-Order Abortions and Defund Planned Parenthood

The widespread availability of abortion pills in the years since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision is one reason the total number of abortions has gone up since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Not only have 12 statesopens in a new tab enshrined unlimited abortion into their state constitutions, but blue states are undermining lifesaving policies in pro-life states. They’re sending abortion pills to women in states that are trying to protect women, girls, and unborn children. They’re also shielding abortion pill providers from legal consequences thanks to laws that prohibit cooperating with pro-life states.

In practice, abortions are still happening in every state, and pro-life state enforcement tools are limited.

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It is clear that the fight for life won’t be won through state action alone. Federal policymakers must do more to protect the unborn.

Unfortunately, some policymakersopens in a new tab have hidden behind the notion of federalism, deferring all responsibility for abortion policy to the states. In Dobbsopens in a new tab, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not include a right to abortion. That means it’s up to the people to decide through elected representatives, but the court didn’t say “only state representatives.” Every level of government has a part to play in defending life.

Drug regulation and federal funding are two ways federal jurisdiction relates to abortion policy.

In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration stopped enforcing safety protocols for abortion pills, including a rule that they had to be dispensed in person (the agency pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse).  Then, in 2023, the agency made those changes permanent and formally gave a stamp of approval to abortion pills being ordered online and shipped through the mail without a woman ever seeing a doctor.

These changes effectively let blue states veto pro-life policies in other states. GOP attorneys general from over 20 states are currently challenging the FDA’s recklessness, citing dangerous side effects to drugs that harm women and girls in their states.

The Trump administration can and should immediately reverse the Biden administration’s policy and reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement for dangerous abortion drugs. A larger review of abortion pills is currently underway at the FDA, and hopefully the agency will revisit the entire approval and postmarketing safety process. But it doesn’t take a full review to at least reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement. It’s a bare-minimum, common sense safety standard.

Drug policy isn’t the only area the federal government has a robust role to play. For example, there’s the Hyde family of amendments, which for nearly 50 years has prohibited direct funding for abortions throughout various annual federal spending bills. Most recently, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July 2025, contained a provision cutting Medicaid reimbursements for certain abortion providers like Planned Parenthood unless they would not perform—or provide funding to entities that perform—abortions. This major victory for the pro-life movement also included additional funding to community health care centers across the country to help pregnant women.

Planned Parenthood had been performing over 400,000 abortionsopens in a new tab a year, according to its 2023-2024 annual report, making it the largest abortion provider in the country. Most of its nearly $800 million in federal funding came from Medicaid reimbursements, so the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” defund provision was a massive blow to Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. Roughly 50 clinics have closed in the past year.

However, this victory is not permanent. The one-year moratorium on federal funding is expiring on July 4, so federal policymakers will have to decide whether to pass another reconciliation bill to extend this pro-life victory.

It is imperative that Congress extends this restriction on abortion providers so that Planned Parenthood doesn’t get a big payday on America’s 250th birthday.

This July 4, we should be reaffirming the founder’s vision for the country, where government secures our God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. One way to do that is by funding real health care that promotes and protects life—not Big Abortion.

LifeNews Note: Melanie Israel is a visiting fellow at the DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family at The Heritage Foundation. Cameron Weber is a Spring 2026 Intern in the Young Leaders Program with Heritage Action. This column originally appeared at Daily Signal.

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