FY2025 markup of Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations bill
Pro-life provisions retained, expanded
The House Appropriations Committee held a full committee mark-up Wednesday that included consideration of the FY2025 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations bill. The bill passed committee 31-25.
Longstanding Pro-Life Protections Retained:
Page 173: Hyde Amendment — Protects federal taxpayer dollars from funding abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or life of the mother. (Enacted in various forms in FYs 1976-2023)
Page 174: Hyde-Weldon Conscience Protection for Health Care Entities —FY23 omnibus retained Hyde-Weldon Amendment to prevent HHS funding recipients from discriminating against health care entities because they refuse to provide, pay for or refer for abortion. (Enacted FYs 2005-2023)
Page 175: Embryo-Destructive Research Funding Ban (Dickey-Wicker) — Ban on federal funding of harmful human embryo research. (Enacted in FYs 1996-2023)
Page 100: Abuse Reporting — Requires Title X grantees to comply with state reporting laws on child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape or incest.
Page 100: Medicare Advantage Conscience Protection — Advantage (formerly Medicare+Choice) conscience protection for health care entities to ensure that they will not be discriminated against in state and federal programs if they refuse to provide abortions. (Enacted FYs 1999-2024)
Relevant Funding Levels:
Title X Funding: $0 – In FY23, Title X was funded at $286.479 million. Title X is a concern because it funds family planning through organizations that also promote and may even provide abortion.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Funding: $0 – In FY23, TPP was funded at $101,000,000. TPP has been a funding stream for Planned Parenthood, its programs have been ineffective at reducing teen pregnancy, STDs, and risky behavior and its curricula may actively support abortion and undermine parental involvement.
Page 95: Sexual Risk Avoidance: $40 million – In FY23, SRA was funded at $35 million.
New Pro-Life Protections:
Page 119: Stop Federal Funding for Research Using Aborted Fetal Tissue – Stop funding research using aborted fetal tissue and redirect funding to ethical alternatives.
Page 119: Abortion Training Opt-In Requirement for Medical Students – This provision prohibits federal funding from being provided to programs training health professionals if they require abortion training without the participants voluntarily electing to opt-in or it they discriminate against students that do not want to perform or be trained in abortion. Currently, ACGME, which accredits graduate medical education programs, requires that students be allowed to opt-out of training in abortion. As Gavin Oxley explains, however, “Such requirements place unethical pressures on medical students/residents to violate their conscience in order to not be targeted for their life-affirming beliefs.”
Page 120: Defunding Planned Parenthood – This provision prohibits abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving any funding made available through the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill.
Page 122: Title X Grantees Not Required to Refer for Abortions – This provision prohibits Title X grantees from being forced to refer to abortion. It states that no Title X grantee may be required to operate in conflict with pro-life state laws.
Page 122: No Grants for Abortion – Prevents grants from being issued to provide information on, access to, or facilitation of abortion.
Page 122: Defunding Executive Order 14076 and Executive Order 14079 – This provision would prohibit funding for the Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14076, issued on July 8, 2022. Among other things, it defined “reproductive healthcare services” as including abortion and established an Interagency Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access to work across agencies to identify and coordinate ways to increase and promote abortion. This provision would also prohibit funding for Executive Order 14079, issued on August 3, 2022, which, among other things, directed HHS to pay for Medicaid patients to travel out of state to obtain abortions. Both Executive orders are summarized in this HHS report.
Page 122: Defunding TANF Proposed Rule – This provision would prevent the enforcement or finalization of the Biden Administration’s proposed rule change governing the Temporary Assistance to Need Families (TANF) program, which singles out pregnancy centers and suggests that TANF funding may not be provided to them.
Page 123: Defunding the Biden Administration 1557 Proposed Rule – This provision would prohibit funding for the Biden Administration’s proposed rule on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Among other things, the rule would require health care entities that participate in federal health programs to pay for or provide abortion.
Page 124: Defunding the Unaccompanied Children Program Rule – This provision would prohibit implementation of the Final Office of Refugee Resettlement Rule, which codifies the practice within the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of requiring the facilitation of abortions for minors in ORR custody, including transporting them across state lines.
During the markup, the following amendments were offered:
En Bloc Amendment sponsored by Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
This amendment includes providing conscience protections for health care providers by offering a private right of action for victims of Weldon Amendment violations. The Weldon Amendment protects a health care entity from facing discrimination because they do not “provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.” Currently, compliance with the Weldon Amendment relies on enforcement from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). OCR under the Biden Administration has shown itself unwilling to enforce the Weldon Amendment.
Passed by a vote of 33-24
Amendment sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
This amendment would have removed pro-life provisions in the bill that 1) defund Planned Parenthood, 2) stop funding research using aborted fetal tissue and redirects it to ethical alternatives, 3) remove funding for the Title X and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs, 4) defund Executive Order 14076 and Executive Order 14079, and 5) provide conscience protection for medical student by stating that students must voluntarily elect abortion training and may not be discriminated against if they do not want to perform or be trained in abortion. LHHS Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) spoke in opposition to this amendment.
Defeated by a vote of 24-32
Amendment sponsored by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)
This amendment includes a number of provisions, including one which would have defunded the Administration’s TANF Proposed Rule (described below).
Defeated by a vote of 23-33
Amendment sponsored by Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL)
Rep. Frankel’s amendment would have reallocated funding from the Sexual Risk Avoidance fund to the CDC Rape Prevention and Education Program.
After being superseded by a second-degree amendment from Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), this amendment passed by voice vote
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) offered a second-degree amendment that would no longer remove funding for sexual risk avoidance and, instead, would fund the Rape Prevention and Education Program with an offset from the CDC building funds.
The Hinson second-degree amendment passed by a vote of 36-19. The Frankel Amendment, as amended by Rep. Hinson’s amendment, then passed the Committee by voice vote.