Warren, Wyden, Schumer, Democrats Publish Report Revealing Trump, Republicans Stripped Health Care Access, Raised Costs for Americans With “Defund” Planned Parenthood Provision

Warren, Wyden, Schumer, Democrats Publish Report Revealing Trump, Republicans Stripped Health Care Access, Raised Costs for Americans With "Defund" Planned Parenthood Provision

In six months since Trump and Republicans "defunded" Planned Parenthood, breast exam visits fell by 25% compared to the same period in a previous year, delaying detection and life-saving preventive care

Text of Report (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led 23 colleagues in publishing a new report revealing the harm Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have caused to Americans in the six months since their dangerous provision to "defund" Planned Parenthood buried in their Big, Beautiful Bill went into effect. The report reveals that, in addition to acting as a backdoor abortion ban, the "defund" provision has ripped away Americans' access to essential services - including primary care, birth control, cancer screenings, and wellness exams - and raised health care costs.

"Six months later, we're seeing exactly how Donald Trump and Republicans' political stunt is hurting Americans and driving up health care costs. This is more than a backdoor abortion ban - it's also ripping away Americans' access to essential services like primary care and cancer screenings," said Senator Warren. "Nobody benefits when people are getting fewer critical exams, paying more for care, or fully forgoing the health care they need. We need to fight back against Republican attacks on Americans' health care and make sure they can't make this dangerous provision permanent."

"Republicans used their Big Ugly Bill to fulfill their fantasies of defunding Planned Parenthood all so they could secure their Fox News talking points. This report lays bare exactly how the GOP's war on reproductive health care is denying women the life-saving health care they depend on and demonstrates the urgent need to prevent the further erosion of the rights of women to make their own health care decisions," said Senator Wyden.

"Last year - Republicans forced their unpopular and radical policies on the country with a backdoor nationwide abortion ban. Despite claiming to believe that states should dictate abortion policy, Republicans are pushing their anti-choice agenda on communities across the U.S.," said Democratic Leader Schumer. "In the months since the 'Big, Ugly Betrayal' became law, American families have already started feeling the pain of Republicans' efforts to defund Planned Parenthood: care is worse, costs are higher, and barriers for patients are more significant. Although these cuts last for only a year, our report has found that the impact of this lack of funding could be permanent and far-reaching. Democrats won't let this stand. Senate Democrats are fighting tooth and nail for women's right to choice and access to safe, affordable, and available health care."

The report found that the "Defund" Planned Parenthood provision has:

1. Interrupted care, raised health care costs, and worsened provider shortages, creating immediate and significant barriers for patients in need of health care;

2. Hit low-income patients and patients in rural and medically underserved areas the hardest;

3. Functioned as a backdoor abortion ban - even in states where abortion is legal; and

4. Shifted costs onto patients, providers, and states, forcing them to absorb the financial and operational burden of lost federal funding without sustainable alternatives.

The report also found that Republican attempts to permanently defund Planned Parenthood will leave patients with nowhere else to turn.

New data in the report shows the number of people accessing care at Planned Parenthood health centers dropped sharply in November and December of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024:

• The number of breast exam visits fell by 25% in December, increasing the risk of delayed breast cancer detection and avoidable, more serious illness.

• The number of visits for birth control pills fell by 20% in November.

• Visits for IUDs and other long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) dropped by 41% in November and 36% in December - the steepest decline across all services measured.

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law with a one-year provision to bar federal Medicaid funding from reimbursing non-profit family planning and reproductive health providers that provide abortions, outside of long-standing narrow exceptions. Established federal law already bans the use of federal funds to provide abortions, but the "defund" provision blocked federal Medicaid reimbursement for all non-abortion services furnished by the health care providers singled out by the law. In addition to Planned Parenthood, two independent organizations - Maine Family Planning and Health Imperatives - have been barred from receiving Medicaid funds.

Prior to the "defund" provision, nearly half of all visits to Planned Parenthood health centers were by patients who relied on Medicaid to cover the cost of care. Now, tens of thousands of Americans have been forced to forgo essential health care, including birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more at Planned Parenthood health centers. Twenty-three Planned Parenthood health centers have closed since the provision went into effect. The provision is set to expire on July 4, 2026.

"President Trump and his backers in Congress 'defunded' Planned Parenthood to make it harder for everyone, everywhere to get an abortion. They did so knowing their actions would make birth control, wellness exams, cancer screenings and other essential health care more expensive and harder to get for millions of people," said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. "In the six months since the law took effect, the real cost of their actions has become clear: Over twenty Planned Parenthood health centers have been forced to close, and tens of thousands of people now have few, if any, options to get the lifesaving care they need. We are grateful to Senate Minority Leader Schumer and Senators Warren and Wyden for leading on this report and amplifying the real-life harms of 'defunding' Planned Parenthood health centers. This work, and this fight, have never been more urgent, as Republicans in Congress call to make the 'defund' law permanent."

The following Senators also joined the report: Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

"Everyone deserves to see the health care provider of their choice, whether you're getting an annual exam or having an abortion," said Rachana Desai Martin, Chief U.S. Program Officer at the Center for Reproductive Rights. "Because of the defund provision, our client Maine Family Planning can no longer accept Medicaid, which half of their patients rely on. People across the country, especially in rural areas, are having a harder time accessing affordable care from a provider they trust. We deserve better."

"The defunding provision is part of a broader, orchestrated attack on people with low incomes, and organizations like Health Imperatives, which provide sexual and reproductive health care and comprehensive supports-including housing and emergency shelter-to survivors of human trafficking, sexual assault, and domestic violence," said Julia Kehoe, President and CEO of Health Imperatives. "If the defunding provision becomes permanent, it will put basic human rights, and our ability to meet them, at risk."

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