JUNEAU, Alaska (LifeSiteNews) — The state of Alaska has finally confirmed compliance with the federal government’s disqualification of Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funds, long after it was obliged to do so.
Last July, President Donald Trump signed into law his controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (BBB), a wide-ranging policy package that includes a one-year ban on federal tax dollars going through Medicaid to entities that commit abortions for reasons other than rape, incest, or supposed threats to the mother’s life. The law originally gave a deadline of October 1, 2025, for compliance.
However, the Alaska Watchman reports that the state continued to put Medicaid dollars toward abortion as late as November 5. Alaska Right to Life Director Pat Martin began reaching out to various state leaders, including the office of Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, prompting action to be taken.
As a result, Alaska Health Department Communications Director Shirley Sakaye confirmed Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid billing had been placed “on hold effective November 5, 2025, for all services,” pending a new review of relevant federal requirements, and pre-November 5 payments will be rescinded. The change does not end abortion funding that falls outside the scope of the BBB.
Within weeks of returning to office, Trump began enforcing the Hyde Amendment against direct funding of most abortions, reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which forbids non-governmental organizations from using taxpayer dollars for most abortions abroad, and cut millions in pro-abortion subsidies by freezing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending.
The cuts have significantly impacted the bottom line of Planned Parenthood, which is currently in court to try to stop the federal government from cutting it off. According to Operation Rescue, 54 abortion facilities shut their doors in 2024, 36 of which were Planned Parenthood locations.
Last year, Planned Parenthood’s most recent annual report revealed that its affiliates across the nation took in $699.3 million in government “health services” reimbursements and grants, accounting for 39 percent of its total revenue during that period. At the same time, the abortion chain committed 392,715 abortions – yet its non-abortion procedures continued to decline as percentages of its overall business.
Nationally, Republicans have proposed several measures to fully cut off Planned Parenthood’s government funding: the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, which permanently bans federal funds from being used for abortion; and the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, which disqualifies Planned Parenthood and its affiliates specifically.
However, standalone bills would face an uphill battle in the narrowly-divided Senate, while new uncertainty has recently arisen as to whether the White House will support a compromise on abortion funding in negotiations over health insurance subsidies.