Statement by Louis Brown, Jr., Esq, Executive Director of the Christ Medicus Foundation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2025
CONTACT: Kathy Dempsey for Christ Medicus Foundation CURO
H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill, represents an important opportunity for a generational victory for pro-life health care, for human dignity, and for patient-centered care that ultimately protects the most vulnerable. As Congress considers this legislation, we urge Senators and Representatives to maximize protections for unborn life and pregnant moms inclusive of defunding Planned Parenthood, to safeguard children’s health by defunding transgender procedures, to adequately fund provider taxes, and to ensure that any changes to Medicaid preserve care for the truly vulnerable. No legislation is perfect. If the final reconciliation package’s provisions maintain a commitment to the right to life and to the dignity of the person, this legislation will be a historic advancement of justice in America.
St. John Paul II wrote that: “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights – for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture – is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.”
Accordingly, we applaud Speaker Mike Johnson and the U.S. House of Representatives for H.R. 1’s provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood. To truly provide for the health care of all, we must protect the right to life of all. Tragically, Planned Parenthood has prioritized monetary gain over the health, safety, and wellbeing of unborn children, pregnant women, young people, and families for decades. Defunding Planned Parenthood will protect the life of hundreds of thousands of unborn children, shield young people from transgender procedures and shield parental rights. Defunding Planned Parenthood will help begin a new era for dignified health care in the United States.
Likewise, as the Senate considers H.R. 1, we urge Senators to preserve H.R. 1’s provisions defunding transgender procedures in the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicaid. In defunding these practices that harm the mental and physical health of patients, Congress can protect the health of Americans from a false deeply unpopularly gender ideology. The majority of Americans, including majorities of Democrats and Republicans, oppose these procedures because these procedures are not medical care, are unethical, do grave damage to a person’s health; and have zero basis in medicine or science. This week’s Supreme Court’s decision in Skrmetti shows there are legitimate constitutional permissible reasons for legislators to regulate these procedures.
In its final consideration of this reconciliation package, we urge the Senate and House to stand firm in defunding Planned Parenthood, in prohibiting public funding for abortion, in defunding transgender procedures, and in funding care for the truly poor and vulnerable. The final reconciliation package must fully prohibit the federal government and states from using federal tax dollars for abortion. State provider taxes should be funded sufficiently to help urban and rural hospitals care for the poor and vulnerable. And importantly, the needs of the truly poor and vulnerable should be the first and primary consideration as Congress deliberates about making needed adjustments to the Medicaid program.
The Christ Medicus Foundation shares Jesus Christ’s healing love in health and wellness. We advance religious freedom for medical professionals and patients. We promote Christ-centered pro-life medical care. We offer our CURO Catholic health and wellness program for the medical needs and whole-person wellness of individuals and families. Founded in 1997, the Christ Medicus Foundation works to accomplish its mission through promoting public policy and education, supporting Christ-centered pro-life medical centers, and providing our CURO Catholic Health and Wellness Program.
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