‘You’re Fired’: Nearly 40 pro-life groups urge Trump admin to cut off Planned Parenthood funds
Nearly 40 pro-life groups urged the Trump administration to debar Planned Parenthood from all federal funding over alleged taxpayer fraud claims.
FIRST ON FOX — Nearly 40 pro-life and faith groups are calling on the Trump administration to cut off Planned Parenthood from all federal funding by stripping the nation's largest abortion provider of its qualified vendor status, arguing there is mounting evidence that Planned Parenthood has "allegedly defrauded taxpayers, violated federal laws, and abused public trust."
The letter, spearheaded by Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins, is addressed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Todd Blanche, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler and was announced Wednesday at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas.
In it, 39 group leaders urge Cabinet officials to finalize and expand on an audit launched in January by the SBA into whether Planned Parenthood fraudulently collected tens of millions in COVID Paycheck Protection Program funds despite being ineligible.
If the administration finds fraud occurred, it could issue a sweeping nationwide ban on Planned Parenthood doing business with any federal agency or program for up to three years, Students for Life Action Vice President of Media and Policy Kristi Hamrick told Fox News Digital.
Unlike defunding through Congress, debarment is an administrative action that would ban Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funds, usually for up to three years.
"You are delisted, and no federal agency can do any business with you whatsoever," Hamrick said.
Hamrick said it would include Title X funds, Medicaid and sex education programs.
"It would make them persona non grata for every federal agency," she added.
The groups say the administrative route would not need congressional approval and is a more tailored and effective approach to addressing what they believe is taxpayer fraud by the organization.
The letter notes that there is already Democratic precedent for the use of administrative debarment, citing a 2022 letter to the DOJ from Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., demanding the federal government make greater use of debarment against "corporate criminals" seeking government contracts.
The letter also notes that this kind of review "is not uncommon," citing the SBA's actions suspending nearly 7,000 Minnesota borrowers over suspected COVID relief loan fraud in January.
MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING OVER $1M IN PPP LOANS FOR SUPPOSED AMATEUR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
"This is about whether or not Planned Parenthood is a qualified vendor and whether or not we need to stay in business with them," Hamrick said. "And we would argue that it's time for them to be fired for the failure to offer the very thing they claim to sell."
In January, Loeffler announced the SBA was auditing 38 Planned Parenthood centers regarding their eligibility for the $88 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans they received during the pandemic.
Planned Parenthood released a statement at the time, slamming the investigation as "politically motivated."
The coalition letter referenced a bombshell New York Times report published last year that cited dozens of current and former Planned Parenthood staff who alleged poor working conditions and "rock-bottom" salaries.
It also pointed to a recent American College of Pediatricians report finding that nearly 80 percent of Planned Parenthood vendors sell cross-sex procedures — including to minors — and outlined broader allegations against the organization, including Medicaid fraud, illegal trafficking of aborted fetal body parts, health and safety violations, and failure to report sex crimes against minors.
NEW FEDERAL PROBE EXAMINES WHETHER TAXPAYER DOLLARS FUND CHILD GENDER TRANSITIONS, LEGAL DEFENSES
"It’s long overdue for the examination of an organization that has received more than $10.35 billion in taxpayer dollars, according to a 2022 report," the letter states. "In light of so many serious allegations against Planned Parenthood, we ask that a debarment investigation of Planned Parenthood be prioritized to debar and delist them, stripping them of qualified vendor status and making them ineligible for any federal taxpayer support."
Hamrick said the issue boils down to vendor standards and an alleged misuse of taxpayer funds.
"The allegations of fraud ... the racist work environment, the shoddy location of business, not following health and safety standards, all of the above," Hamrick said. "So what we are saying is Planned Parenthood goes to court again and again and says, 'You can't cut our funds because we are a qualified vendor,' and qualified is the word. We are saying they are a nonqualified vendor."
Hamrick also addressed concerns that Planned Parenthood provides vital services to low-income women, pointing out that Federally Qualified Health Centers, which are federally-funded community-based clinics, vastly outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities, with roughly 5,500 sites specifically providing women's health services compared to under 600 Planned Parenthood vendors nationwide.
"FQHCs served 32.5 million patients in 2024, compared to Planned Parenthood's 2.08 million, as reported in their most recent annual report. Women have choices in where to go," the letter states.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Besides Students for Life, other pro-life and Christian organizations that signed onto the letter include Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Family Research Council, Faith & Freedom, National Right to Life, Concerned Women for America, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Americans United for Life, American Principles Project, Family Policy Alliance, CatholicVote, and the National Association of Christian Lawmakers.
Planned Parenthood, the SBA, HHS, DOJ and the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.