(Oregon Right to Life) — Days before the U.S. Congress passed its sweeping budget bill eliminating federal funding to Planned Parenthood for a year, Oregonians joined thousands of people nationwide in coast-to-coast demonstrations to call for the elimination of taxpayer dollars to the abortion giant. The budget bill, passed Thursday, could trigger hundreds of abortion facility closures.
On Saturday, June 28, thousands of pro-life advocates across the country, including in Oregon, gathered outside abortion facilities at 10:00 a.m. local time to peacefully oppose the funding of Planned Parenthood with federal tax dollars.
National pro-life organization Live Action organized the rallies, which took place in every state that has at least one Planned Parenthood facility. Oregon Right to Life coordinated with Live Action to help organize the Oregon demonstrations, with rallies taking place in Medford, Eugene, Salem, Bend, Ontario, and Portland (another rally took place just across the border in Vancouver, among other Washington State demonstrations).
The six Oregon demonstrations were among more than 200 rallies nationwide.
Event leaders told Oregon Right to Life the events were successful and very positive, in spite of the prevalence of pro-abortion sentiment in Oregon. The Salem rally saw an estimated 50 people take part.
“The demonstration in Eugene felt very joyful,” Live Action Development Operations Manager Laura Rose told Oregon Right to Life. “We were there out of love for the babies and love for the mothers and fathers who feel abortion is the solution. This love really showed in our prayers, our conversations, and even in how we responded to angry people who drove by. The pro-life movement is one of love and joy, and I really felt that at the demonstration.”
“I would like people to know their presence matters,” Rose added. “Even when you’re nervous or very introverted, your presence outside an abortion facility makes an impact. Prayer is powerful, and we have a duty to stand for those who cannot stand for themselves.”
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Live Action’s Sami Parker, who organized the Bend rally, also reported success despite the generally pro-abortion landscape of the state.
“We received more waves and thumbs up than we did middle fingers, even in Oregon, of all places,” Parker said in an Instagram post. She suggested that the reception indicates that most people are not in favor of $800 million in taxpayer dollars going to fund Planned Parenthood every year, a business she described as built on abortion and “the fear of vulnerable (and oftentimes COERCED) women.”
A 2025 Knights of Columbus-Marist poll found that 57% of respondents across political divides disagreed with using taxpayer dollars to finance abortion. Meanwhile, a 2023 study published in the medical journal Cureus found that 70% of abortions are “coerced, unwanted or inconsistent with women’s preferences.”
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, currently derives approximately 40% of its annual revenue from federal grants and reimbursements. According to its official 2023–2024 report, Planned Parenthood brought in more than $2 billion in revenue during the year, $792.2 million (39%) of which came from the federal government. During the same period, the abortion giant reported performing 402,230 abortions.
Calls to defund Planned Parenthood increased markedly after Donald Trump was re-elected and Republicans gained majorities in the legislature in November.
This year, a provision was included in the federal budget reconciliation bill to cut taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood.
On Thursday, the Republican-led U.S. Congress finally passed the “Big Beautiful Bill” in a 218-214 vote, cutting federal funding to Planned Parenthood for a year.
READ: Pro-Life Leaders Respond After Passage of ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Defunding Planned Parenthood for a Year
“For decades, Americans have made it clear that they do not want their tax dollars funding abortion,” National Right to Life President Carol Tobias said in a Thursday press statement shared with Oregon Right to Life. “Today, Congress delivered.”
Planned Parenthood Action Fund recently estimated that the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood could trigger the closure of almost 200 Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in 24 states nationwide.
Meanwhile, the elimination of funds to Planned Parenthood is unlikely to be limited to federal cuts. The U.S. Supreme Court last week handed down a 6-3 ruling affirming that states have the right to exclude Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
The ruling will have a nationwide impact, affording other states greater freedom to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving taxpayer dollars.
