The Big Story 

The House-passed bill to advance President Trump’s agenda includes a provision to “defund” Planned Parenthood, a longtime goal of the anti-abortion movement. One of the key players wants to ensure the bill makes it across the finish line in the Senate with that provision intact. 

© AP

Students for Life Action (SFLAction) President Kristan Hawkins said that a monthlong mobilization would run through the month of June, focusing on 12 GOP senators in particular: 

Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Susan Collins (Maine), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mike Lee (Utah), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Ky.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Todd Young (Ind.). 

“Our target list of U.S. senators represents friends and sometimes foes, all of whom are expressing reluctance on the need to set aside our differences to prioritize getting abortion vendors out of our healthcare spending. Pregnancy is not a disease cured by abortion,” Hawkins said in a statement. 

The Senate is expected to make some significant changes to the House version of the bill. Murkowski and Collins have already expressed uneasiness over the provision tied to Planned Parenthood, and Senate Republicans can only afford to lose three votes.

Federal funding is already banned from being used to cover abortions, but the House’s legislation would expand that to prohibit funds flowing to any health care organization focusing on family planning and reproductive health that provides abortions. The bill doesn’t explicitly mention Planned Parenthood, but it’s the only such health center that also provides abortions.  

The legislation aims to save hundreds of billions of dollars from health provisions; according to congressional scorekeepers, the Planned Parenthood provision is the only one that costs money. 

Planned Parenthood Action Fund says if the bill passes, one-third of Planned Parenthood health centers across the country — nearly 200 — could close. The majority of medical services the centers provide are sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment and contraception, but Republicans say any other community health center or physician office can do the same. 

Hawkins said her organization will score the vote, a rarity for a budget bill.  

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads 

How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

White House to fix ‘formatting errors’ in RFK Jr. ‘MAHA Report’

White House attacks Jill Biden over Joe Biden health ‘cover-up’

Study reveals decline in mental health among US mothers

In Other News 

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

HHS cancels funding for Moderna vaccines to fight pandemic flu

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is canceling hundreds of millions of dollars in funding pledged to Moderna to help the company develop, test and license mRNA-based vaccines to combat pandemic flu viruses, including bird flu in humans.  The company said it was notified Wednesday that the agency had terminated the funding awarded by the Biden administration for the late-stage development and right to purchase …

Around the Nation 

Local and state headlines on health care:

What We’re Reading 

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

What Others are Reading 

Most read stories on The Hill right now:

Second federal court blocks Trump’s tariffs 

A second federal court blocked the bulk of President Trump’s tariffs on Thursday, ruling he cannot claim unilateral authority to impose them … Read more

Appeals court lifts first block on Trump tariffs

A federal appeals court lifted the first of two rulings blocking President Trump’s tariffs on Thursday, handing him a temporary win after a lower court … Read more

What People Think 

Opinion related to health submitted to The Hill: