Pro-life marchers say fight against abortion isn't over

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(The Center Square) – Despite the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the March for Life continues. With the decision to ban or support abortion now in the hands of the states, according to health policy research group KFF, abortion rates have increased and abortion has become more accessible.

"The upward trend in abortion volume is likely due to multiple reasons, including expanded telehealth capacity, the ability to mail medication abortion pills to patients, and the lower costs for telehealth abortions through virtual clinics compared to in-person care," KFF says when explaining abortion trends after Dobbs.

The Hyde Amendment and Title X are supposed to limit the tax dollars paying for abortion, but the limit is not zero. The Biden Administration used Medicaid and other programs to supply tax dollars into abortion funds across the United States, which Trump’s administration is attempting to put an end to. 

“For years now we know that Medicaid funds have skirted the essential protections under the Hyde Amendment and funnel tax dollars to abortion providers. We said no more. The working families tax got the Big Beautiful Bill. For the first time ever we finally defunded big abortion,” Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told attendees at March for Life. 

Medicaid is not the only issue. David Bereit, founder of the 40 Days for Life movement and member of Equal Rights Institute’s Board of Advisors, explained how Planned Parenthood has been spending government money, supplied by tax dollars, to fund abortions without having to legally declare so. He said Planned Parenthood used millions of dollars not to help improve healthcare, but instead to put it into legal and political advocacy to advance abortion.

“By having the money come in, it’s very fungible, and they can take the money in and use it for something else, but then that frees up resources for them to be able to do abortion. So it’s an accounting gimmick that they may not be directly using it for abortion, but it is helping to facilitate them doing the abortion and giving them money elsewhere so that they are able to do the abortion,” Bereit said.

At March for Life, Vice President JD Vance said Planned Parenthood and affiliiates are being investigated for fraud regarding the millions of dollars received from Biden’s administration. 

“You should not be able to commit fraud and use taxpayer money for abortion. It’s that simple,” Vance said.

The Biden administration during COVID-19 loosened restrictions on in-person doctor visits, allowing for less safe abortion practices. Dr. Ingrid Skop, Texas OBGYN, director of Medical Affairs for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, and board member of the American Association of pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists said abortion drugs are actually harming women. 

“The FDA has removed all the guardrails on these drugs. They’re being ordered online. They’re being delivered in the mail to pro-life states. Women are suffering through completely medical, unsupervised abortions without any pre-ordered testing, without any follow-up. More than 20 of these women end up in an emergency room,” Dr. Ingrid Skop said.

Bereit told The Center Square that the pro-life movement will continue to fight for the protection of women and children. 

“Until that day when no more women cry, no more children die, and abortion is not only unavailable, but it’s unwanted and it’s unthinkable,” Bereit said.