Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, has been prescribing cross-sex hormones to minors as young as 16 without proper documentation or oversight, an undercover investigation reveals.
Live Action, a pro-life organization, released a series of phone call recordings in which a woman posing as a 16-year-old girl called several Planned Parenthood clinics asking for hormones to transition.
“Our undercover reporting has exposed a chilling reality: Planned Parenthood is fast-tracking vulnerable children into irreversible hormone treatments with almost no medical oversight,” Lila Rose, president of Live Action, said in a statement.
At least seven locations agreed to prescribe the drugs during her initial appointment, which could be held virtually, the investigation uncovered. The requested appointments had a quick turnaround time, with some being scheduled on the same day.
In five instances, no records of a mental health assessment were needed before Planned Parenthood physicians could prescribe cross-sex hormones to minors.
“I don’t need any like, therapy or anything first? Like you don’t need any record of that?” the undercover investigator asked. “Not that I know of,” a Planned Parenthood employee replied.
Various clinics that spoke with the investigator over the phone were based in New York and Minnesota.
“There’s nothing that I need before, right? Like I don’t need to, like, have records of meeting with a therapist or anything, right? Because my parents definitely aren’t gonna let me do that,” said the woman posing as a minor. Her question was met with a brief response: “Um . . . nope.”
While it’s known for providing abortion services, Planned Parenthood is also the second largest provider of hormone therapy in the U.S, according to a document published by the organization itself. Additionally, as of 2022, Planned Parenthood reported that 41 of its 49 affiliated facilities offer hormone therapy. Such treatments for minors include puberty blockers, testosterone, and estrogen.
“These dangerous drugs can sterilize, stunt growth, and leave lifelong scars. This is not healthcare. It is child abuse, and it must be stopped,” Rose said.
Planned Parenthood brought in roughly $700 million from government health services reimbursements and grants in 2023 alone and performed nearly 400,000 abortions that year, according to its latest annual report.
Pro-life groups, including Live Action, have been lobbying Republican lawmakers to defund Planned Parenthood through this year’s reconciliation bill in Congress, making their case that the abortion industry is benefiting from federal taxpayer dollars through Medicaid reimbursements that cover non-abortion costs. A new proposal could change that.
Some centrist House Republicans, however, are opposing the move to defund Planned Parenthood behind closed doors. Among the lawmakers who voiced opposition during a meeting with House GOP leadership were Representatives Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), and Jen Kiggans (R., Va.), NOTUS reported.
When previously asked by National Review about his reaction to the moderate Republicans’ reported opposition to the anti-abortion proposal, President Donald Trump responded, “We’ll work something out.”
While the Hyde amendment technically prohibits taxpayer-funded abortions at the federal level, with some exceptions, the legislation plans to redirect Medicaid funds away from Planned Parenthood and the larger abortion industry.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction over Medicaid and health insurance, may hold markups for the reconciliation bill as soon as next week. Before finalizing and sending its reconciliation bill to the Senate by July 4, the House is looking for ways to cut between $800 million and $1.5 trillion in spending to offset the cost of Trump’s agenda.