Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is urging Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stop federal family planning money from going to abortion providers, arguing the administration is allowing taxpayer funds to flow in ways Congress did not intend.
In a letter dated April 2, Hawley said he was "alarmed" by the administration's decision to continue distributing Title X grant funding to organizations such as Planned Parenthood.
He wrote that the funds "will now directly subsidize organizations like Planned Parenthood that perform hundreds of thousands of abortions each year" and urged Kennedy to "reverse course."
Hawley pointed to the Trump administration's 2019 "Protect Life Rule," which required physical and financial separation between federally funded family planning services and abortion-related activities under Title X.
He said that policy led some providers to leave the program, allowing federal dollars to be redirected to other grantees.
"But to my knowledge, no rulemaking process appears to have yet begun," Hawley wrote, despite Kennedy's earlier commitment during his confirmation process to restore the Trump-era policy.
"And taxpayer money continues to flow to abortion providers."
Hawley also questioned the legal basis for the current funding structure, asking the department to identify "what court orders, judgments, or consent decrees compel HHS to fund abortion providers."
The letter raised concerns about whether the department can ensure federal money is not indirectly supporting abortion services, noting that "money is fungible and every federal dollar offsets other operational costs."
Hawley requested answers from the department by April 30, signaling possible congressional oversight if it does not change course.
Title X, enacted in 1970, is the federal government's family planning program, and federal law says that none of its funds "shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning."
The legal and regulatory fight has centered on how that prohibition should be enforced.
The Trump administration in 2019 finalized the "Protect Life Rule," which required clear physical and financial separation between Title X activities and abortion-related services.
The Biden administration later reversed that policy, and a 2021 HHS final rule adopted the earlier framework governing the program and removed the 2019 separation requirements.
Hawley had previously said Kennedy agreed during his confirmation process to reestablish a Trump rule blocking Title X taxpayer dollars from going to entities like Planned Parenthood that perform or refer patients for abortions.
The latest dispute follows a separate Title X funding fight from last year.
In April 2025, the Trump administration paused $27.5 million in Title X funding for 16 organizations, including 11 Planned Parenthood affiliates and all recipients in seven states, while it investigated compliance with federal law.
The ACLU later dropped its legal challenge after HHS agreed to restore the funding which had been frozen during the investigation.
Current HHS materials list active Title X service grant recipients. HHS had not publicly responded to Hawley's letter as of Friday afternoon.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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