{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=7473", "Rep. Estes Leads Letter to Reissue the Protect Life Rule", "2026-06-01", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Ron Estes", "E000298", "estes.house.gov", "estes", "https://estes.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "U.S. Representative Ron Estes (KS-04) led a letter alongside U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) urging Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reissue the Protect Life Rule to restore crucial safeguards to the Title X Family Planning Program.\n\nReissuing the Protect Life Rule, which previously eliminated abortion referral mandates and separated Title X funding from abortion activities, the goal is to reverse Biden-era policies and ensure taxpayer dollars do not fund the abortion industry.\n\nDuring the first Trump Administration, the organization withdrew from the program to avoid complying with the rule. Although the Biden Administration later rescinded the Protect Life Rule \u2013 permitting clinic co-location and requiring abortion referrals \u2013 the Trump Administration's Spring 2025 Unified Agenda signals intent to reinstate the Protect Life Rule.\n\nCongressman Ron Estes previously led a letter in 2018 on the Protect Life Rule.\n\n\u201cFor too long, the Biden administration forced a deeply flawed mandate on the Title X program, forcing hard-working Americans to effectively subsidize the abortion industry through their tax dollars. Leading this letter is about restoring basic program integrity,\u201d Congressman Ron Estes said. \u201cBy reissuing the Protect Life Rule, the Trump Administration will once again draw a bright, undeniable line of physical and financial separation between actual family planning services and elective abortion activities. We must ensure our federal resources protect innocent life rather than funding its destruction.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re counting on the Trump administration to restore this policy and ensure that Title X funds cannot be used to perform or support abortions. The Biden administration flagrantly disregarded both the letter of the law and congressional intent, illegally mandating that abortion and abortion services be actively promoted through this program,\u201d U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus said. \u201cWith this bicameral letter, we\u2019re sending a clear, unified message that it\u2019s time to do right by the law, the American taxpayers, and unborn children.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Protect Life Rule cements the fundamental directive that the federal government is never to be involved in the business of abortion either directly or indirectly. For the majority of Americans who are fundamentally opposed to this barbaric and entirely demeaning practice, the Protect Life Rule remains an ironclad safeguard for the sanctity of human life,\u201d Congresswoman Virginia Foxx said. \u201cThe tax dollars of hardworking Americans must be given the due deference they deserve \u2013 not a single cent should be used to fund Title X programs where abortion is deliberately misconstrued and interpreted as a method of family planning.\u201d\n\nYou may click HERE to read Congressman Estes\u2019 full letter to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy.\n\nSupporting organizations of this letter include: SBA Pro-Life America, National Right to Life, March for Life Action, Family Research Council, Students for Life Action, Concerned Women for America, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and Catholic Vote.", 1, "2026-06-02T06:40:38Z", "2026-06-02T06:42:17Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=7473"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0201078839600086, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}