Family Council Joins Letter Urging Congressional Leaders Not to Fund Abortionists

Above: Planned Parenthood’s facility in Little Rock. Since 2022, the center no longer performs abortions, but it does refer women to abortion facilities in other states. Planned Parenthood’s affiliates nationwide have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding over the years. File Photo from 2020.

On Wednesday, Family Council joined more than 50 other pro-life leaders and organizations in a letter calling on Congress not to fund abortionists.

In 2025, Congress placed a moratorium on funding for abortionists, and since then many abortion facilities have closed because they no longer receive federal tax dollars.

But the moratorium is scheduled to expire in July. If Congress does not extend it, abortionists and their affiliates could be eligible for taxpayer funding once again.

The letter Family Council signed points this out, saying:

Planned Parenthood is a prime example of how the abortion industry fills its coffers through taxpayer dollars. According to their 2024-2025 annual report, Planned Parenthood alone received $832 million in taxpayer funding, primarily through federal health programs. Since the moratorium, at least twenty abortion facilities have closed, yet the current trend line is an increase in the number of abortions. Returning more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to an organization that just increased its year-over-year abortion numbers by 8%, and to other providers like it, will only further entrench the abortion industry in American society and politics and return the federal government to being the largest subsidizer of abortion providers. . . .

It is unconscionable that taxpayer funds be disbursed to an industry whose core business is terminating the life of unborn children.

July 4, 2026, marks a key moment in American history. We cannot in good conscience celebrate 250 years of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by simultaneously federally funding the largest abortion providers in the country in order to facilitate their deadly and destructive businesses.

We urgently request that the Senate and House take up a new reconciliation package to, at minimum, extend the moratorium.

Policymakers must protect taxpayers from subsidizing abortionists. Arkansas has spent years working to do exactly that.

In 1988, voters passed Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution prohibiting public funds from paying for abortion except to save the mother’s life. Following a lawsuit by an abortion clinic in Little Rock, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Amendment 68 could be enforced to whatever extent it did not conflict with federal laws. Practically speaking, this has prevented public funding of abortion in most cases, with the exception of abortions paid for with Medicaid funds in certain circumstances permitted by the federal law.

However, Amendment 68 did not prevent abortionists from receiving state or federal funds for other purposes besides performing abortion.

That’s why in 2015, the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 996 prohibiting the state from awarding grants to abortion providers and their affiliates.

That same year, Governor Asa Hutchinson directed the Department of Human Services to terminate its Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood after a series of undercover videos showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of organs and tissue harvested from aborted babies.

Following a lengthy lawsuit, Arkansas was able to block Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood.

In 2021, the Arkansas Legislature passed a measure keeping abortionists like Planned Parenthood out of public schools after Family Council obtained nearly 1,400 pages of documents that revealed Planned Parenthood had worked in public schools in Pulaski County for several years.

Abortionists like Planned Parenthood have tried again and again to receive taxpayer funds. Arkansas has done a good job keeping them off the public dole. Our federal government needs to do the same. That’s why Family Council is pleased to join so many pro-life leaders in urging Congress to do exactly that.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Church Attendance Is Up. Here’s Why That Matters.

Research continues to show church attendance in America is growing.

A recent report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research found that median in-person worship attendance rose from 65 in 2020 to 70 in 2025. That may sound modest, but researchers called it significant.

The data suggests more congregations are stabilizing or growing rather than shrinking. Volunteers are showing up, and ministers are feeling more optimistic.

This is part of a broader trend we have been watching for a while now.

We have written before about the “quiet revival” taking place among young adults in America and abroad.

Bible sales have soared, young men and women are driving a resurgence in church attendance, and CBS News has reported on the large number of adults — particularly Gen Z — who have been baptized into the Christian faith in recent years.

A recent Gallup poll shows young men are now more likely than young women to say religion is “very important” in their lives.

It’s good to see more Americans returning to church and engaging with scripture.

Of course, as we have said many times, it isn’t enough simply to show up at church or own a Bible, but all of this is very encouraging.

Church congregations help believers live out their faith in daily life. Being part of a local community of believers is an essential part of discipleship.

Hopefully this “quiet revival” is one that will continue to spread.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Educational Excellence, Courtroom Controversies — and Other Top Stories from This Week

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Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

🎓 Arkansas Department of Education Data Shows Homeschoolers Excelling Under EFA Program: Homeschoolers participating in the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program under the LEARNS Act outperformed students in private schools on state-mandated tests, according to data that Family Council obtained from the Arkansas Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act. Keep Reading.

📖 Arkansas State Library Board Advances Rules to Protect Children from Explicit Material: Arkansas is home to many public libraries all across the state, but in recent years, parents and policymakers alike have expressed serious concerns about obscene and explicit children’s books that some librarians have placed on the shelves of their local libraries. Last week, the Arkansas State Library Board advanced a proposal to help protect children from sexually explicit material in public libraries. Keep Reading.

💊 Family Council Joins Brief Asking SCOTUS to Block Mail-Order Abortion Drugs: Last week, Family Council joined 49 other pro-life organizations in a legal brief challenging mail-order abortion drugs before the U.S. Supreme Court. Keep Reading.

🏛️ Case Closed. Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Arkansas’ Pro-Life Laws: A Pulaski County Circuit Judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to undo Arkansas’ pro-life laws. Keep Reading.

🏀 Mid Vermont Christian School Back in Court: Attorneys representing a Christian school in Vermont were back in court on Friday after state officials refused to include the school in state programs. Keep Reading.

💸 Attorneys Say Online Sports Betting Is Bankrupting Families: As states have legalized sports betting, most men ages 18 – 49 now have an active sportsbook account online. Arkansans wagered a record $86.5 million in March alone this year. But this type of gambling is taking a terrible toll on individuals and their families. Bankruptcy attorneys across the country say online sports betting is driving a surge in personal bankruptcies — especially among young men in their 20s and 30s. Keep Reading.

🍼 Guest Column: “There Is No Mama”. A recent video exposed the injustice at the heart of same-sex marriage and commercial surrogacy. In it, a man bouncing a baby on his lap asks, “Who do you want? Dada or Pop?” The baby answered, “Mama!” To which, both the man and his unseen partner behind the camera laughed and said, “There is no Mama.” They continue to badger the child, who then begins to cry. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

EXCLUSIVE: Acting FDA Commissioner says he’s pro-life, regrets past entanglement with Planned Parenthood. From LiveAction.

Sports Betting Harms Kids and Communities — What Parents Need to Know. From Daily Citizen.

Faithfulness, not Pride. From Breakpoint.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.