Majority Leader | Research | The Leader Board | THE NEWSR...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMThe Leader Board01.27.26Senate Republicans Stand Up for Moms and the Unborn With the Pregnant Students’ Rights ActAfter Securing the Major First Pro-Life Legislative Accomplishment in Decades as Part of the Working Families Tax Cuts, Republicans Continue Fighting for Moms and the Unborn THIS EVENING, SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE FORCING A VOTE ON SEN. MOODY’S PRO-MOM, PRO-LIFE PREGNANT STUDENTS’ RIGHTS ACT“Navigating college can be challenging, and unfortunately women who become pregnant can feel pressure choosing between bringing life into this world or academic failure. No one should have to make this decision. My Pregnant Students’ Rights Act ensures students know what resources and support are available to them to stay in school, succeed, and care for their new baby.” – Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.)“The House on Thursday passed legislation 217-211 that would require colleges to advise pregnant students of their rights to accommodations and other services.” (PoliticoPro: H.R. 6359 (119): House passes Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, Senate tees up vote – 1/23/26)“This bill requires universities to inform students who are pregnant of their rights and protections that would allow them to carry a pregnancy to term without abandoning their academic career, such as modified class schedules, excused absences, and resources.” (Sen. Moody: NEWS RELEASE: Senator Moody Supports Life, Sponsors Pregnant Students’ Rights Act – 1/14/26)“Schools would need to provide a list of resources and available accommodations to help pregnant students in carrying their baby to term and caring for the baby after birth, along with any information on how to file a complaint with the Education Department if a student believes a Title IX violation exists or they’ve been discriminated against because of their determination to carry a baby to term.” (PoliticoPro: H.R. 6359 (119): House passes Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, Senate tees up vote – 1/23/26)“The information must be shared via email with each enrolled student at least once each academic year and it would need to be included in any student handbooks; made available at orientations, student health or counseling centers; and listed on the school’s publicly available website…” (PoliticoPro: H.R. 6359 (119): House passes Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, Senate tees up vote – 1/23/26)THE VOTE COMES ON THE HEELS OF THE FIRST MAJOR PRO-LIFE LEGISLATIVE WIN IN DECADES – PASSAGE OF THE WORKING FAMILIES TAX CUTS LAW, WHICH DEFUNDED BIG ABORTION“It’s the most significant pro-life law ever.” – Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Member Matthew HennesseyAs part of Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law, big abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, were stripped of their federal Medicaid funding for one year. (U.S. Congress: H.R. 1 – accessed 1/27/26)“The bill, which President Trump signed on July 4, cuts off Medicaid funding to nonprofit abortion clinics no matter what other health-related services they offer—or claim to. Planned Parenthood will of course be hardest hit.” (The Wall Street Journal: op-ed: Planned Parenthood Gets Cut Off – 7/7/25)“Conservatives have long sought to block large abortion providers from federal funds to avoid providing indirect support for abortion, since money is fungible.” (Economic Policy Innovation Center: Defunding Big Abortion: Breakthrough & the Next Opportunity – 7/21/25)Before Republicans’ law, taxpayers subsidized big abortion providers: “Planned Parenthood pockets the Medicaid funding it gets for the cancer screenings and mental-health counseling it supposedly does. It then uses the money to pay for abortions. A third of the organization’s funding comes from the federal government.” (The Wall Street Journal: op-ed: Planned Parenthood Gets Cut Off – 7/7/25)“Practically, this will force abortionists to choose between maintaining a significant funding stream and continuing to perform abortions. It also means that Americans’ tax dollars are no longer funding abortions and instead preserving Medicaid for truly vulnerable Americans who utilize the program for health care services.” (Economic Policy Innovation Center: Defunding Big Abortion: Breakthrough & the Next Opportunity – 7/21/25)Senate Democrats doubled down on their support of taxpayer-funded abortions by trying to strike Republicans’ commonsense provision from the Working Families Tax Cuts law. (Motion to Waive re: Murray Amdt. No. 2771: Roll Call Vote #344 – 6/30/25)And Democrat state leaders continue fighting this historic provision in court, undermining Congress’ legitimate lawmaking authority:“A federal appeals court again overturned a lower court’s ruling halting a provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that prevents Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers, marking the second case in which U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has been overruled on the same matter.”“The three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit found that the Trump administration sufficiently showed it was likely to prevail on its arguments that the provision of the bill was lawful and not ambiguous.” (The Washington Examiner: Judge who struck One Big Beautiful Bill Act abortion defunding overruled by appeals court again – 12/31/25)DEMOCRATS’ PRO-ABORTION DEMAGOGUERY IS NOTHING NEW, BETWEEN BLOCKING THE BORN-ALIVE ABORTION SURVIVORS PROTECTION ACT AND THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S EXPANSION OF MAIL-ORDER ABORTION – BUT REPUBLICANS WILL CONTINUE ADVOCATING FOR THE UNBORNOn January 22, 2025, “Republicans sought cloture on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a bill that requires health care practitioners to provide the ‘same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence’ for a child born alive during an attempted abortion, as they would during normal childbirth.” (The Hill: Senate Democrats block GOP’s ‘born-alive’ abortion bill – 1/22/25)But “[w]ith Democrats unanimously opposed, the measure stalled in the Senate on a party-line vote of 52 to 47, falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and advance toward a final vote.” (The New York Times: Senate Democrats Block G.O.P. Effort to Criminalize Some Abortion Providers – 1/22/25)According to data made available to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, of the eight states that report data on infants born alive after an abortion, “284 babies were reported to have been born alive between 1997 and 2024.” (Charlotte Lozier Institute: Fact Sheet: Questions and Answers on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors – 12/19/24)Under pressure from far-left groups, the Biden administration took unprecedented steps to remove longstanding safety requirements and expand access to mail-order abortion pills:“The [Biden] Food and Drug Administration… finalized a rule change that broadens availability of abortion pills.”“The Biden administration partially implemented the change last year, announcing it would no longer enforce a long-standing requirement that women pick up the medicine in person.”“For more than 20 years, the FDA labeling had limited dispensing to a subset of specialty offices and clinics, due to safety concerns.” (NPR: The FDA finalizes rule expanding the availability of abortion pills – 1/3/23)“Medication abortions accounted for almost two-thirds of all clinician-provided abortions in the United States in 2023.” (Guttmacher Institute: Fact Sheet – Abortion in the United States – April 2025)In October, 51 Senate Republicans led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) sent a letter to administration officials “commending their recent statements on data discrepances surrounding abortion pill safety and a commitment to review the science.”“Not only is this drug deadly for preborn babies and a serious health risk for expectant mothers, but the decision also runs afoul of states with pro-life laws on the books.” (Sen. Graham: 51 Republican Senators Urge FDA To Continue To Stand For Life, Reevaluate Generic Abortion Pill Approval – 10/9/25)“Under current FDA regulations, these drugs can be obtained via mail order without meaningful consultation with a medical professional and without any confirmation of who is purchasing them or for what purpose. These policies have enabled abortion pills to be obtained by abusers, traffickers, and even minors. The aftermath has not only been deadly for preborn babies, but lethal to their mothers.” – 51 Senate Republicans“[W]e recommend [the FDA]… [r]einstate the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and all its generic versions” – 51 Senate RepublicansThis month, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) held a hearing on the dangers of the abortion pill, including testimony from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) and Dr. Monique Chireau Wubbenhorst.“Activists have created an organized and dangerous scheme of drug dealing protected by politicians. These are not medical standards.” – Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R)Despite Democrats’ shameful obstruction, Republicans continue advocating protections for the unborn, “including Hyde and Hyde-Weldon conscience protections” in FY2026 appropriations legislation. (U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations: Committee Releases Conferenced Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Bills – 1/20/26)Last week, the Trump administration took significant action to enforce abortion conscience protections:“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)… announced major enforcement and policy actions that safeguard federal health care provider conscience rights and protect the dignity of human life.”“These actions include a Notice of Violation… finding that an Illinois state law violates two federal health care conscience laws: the Weldon… and Coats-Snowe… Amendments.”“The Notice of Violation explains that Illinois law unlawfully ties health care provider conscience protections to referral requirements in the case of abortion.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: HHS Takes Comprehensive Action to Enforce Conscience Rights and Protect Human Life – 1/21/26)PrintEmailTweetNextPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
