<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>DALLAS —</strong> House Speaker <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/mike-johnson/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mike Johnson</a> (R-LA) stated that cutting off federal funding for <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/planned-parenthood/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Planned Parenthood</a> remains a priority, despite the expiration of a one-year ban on the abortion provider receiving Medicaid reimbursements.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I would like to continue the defunding of Planned Parenthood on this, of course, and we’re looking for legislative vehicles to do that,” Johnson told the <em>Washington Examiner</em> during a Wednesday morning interview at the Republicans’ midterm convention.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Planned Parenthood regained access to federal funding after a one-year ban, which was part of President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/donald-trump/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Donald Trump’s</a> One Big Beautiful Bill Act, lapsed in July.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Johnson emphasized that “the Hyde Amendment is applied to every piece of legislation that’s relevant. You cannot use a cent of taxpayer dollars to fund an abortion. We absolutely must make sure that’s true.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or life-threatening complications for the mother. The lapse of the ban means Planned Parenthood can receive <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/medicare-and-medicaid/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Medicaid</a> reimbursements for non-abortion services, such as contraception and STD screenings, which has upset anti-abortion advocates.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Anti-abortion advocates are urging Republicans to reinstate the prohibition before the upcoming November elections.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Johnson did not provide a timeline for when the ban might be reinstated. When asked about potential legislative vehicles for cutting off federal funding, he confirmed he had options in mind but did not disclose them.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“You cannot use a cent of taxpayer dollars to fund an abortion,” Johnson reiterated. “We absolutely must make sure that’s true.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Johnson mentioned that there are various “angles to the law that we need to get to” regarding defunding Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, referencing ongoing litigation involving the Justice Department and state <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/regulations/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">regulations</a>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Of course, we overturned <em>Roe v. Wade</em> with the [<em>Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization</em>] decision, but tragically, shockingly, the number of abortions has gone up because of the mail-in abortion pill, which is a dangerous, terribly dangerous thing,” Johnson stated. “It’s led to the deaths of lots of women who have done that without supervision of a physician.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Abortions have increased slightly since the overturning of <em>Roe v. Wade</em>, with approximately 1,126,000 abortions reported by clinics in 2025, marking a 21% increase from 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Johnson’s comments coincide with a significant abortion case in which Louisiana is arguing before a federal appeals court that the FDA's allowance of telehealth and mail delivery of mifepristone infringes on states’ rights to ban abortion. A successful lawsuit could eliminate online and mail access to the drug nationwide.</p>