WASHINGTON (BP) — The U.S. House passed a budget bill early today (May 22) to defund Planned Parenthood, end transgender interventions and help Christian nonprofits and families, all Southern Baptist-supported measures the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) supports this fiscal year.

ERLC President Brent Leatherwood praised the passage of the Reconciliation Budget Bill in a press release, pointing out that if passed by the U.S. Senate, it would also defund any of Planned Parenthood’s related entities, enact a pro-family child tax credit, enhance the adoption tax credit and benefit Christian nonprofits through a more generous charitable deduction framework.

All of the measures stated above are included in ERLC’s 2025 Public Policy Agenda, were promoted by ERLC on Capitol Hill, and are included in the Budget Reconciliation Bill the House passed.

“It’s good to see Congress still listens. Tens of thousands of Southern Baptists, believers and pro-life Americans joined with us to call for the defunding of Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry,” Leatherwood said. “The U.S. House, under the leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson, responded. I am grateful for that. We expect the Senate to do the same.”

The House narrowly passed the bill 215-214 after winning over staunch conservatives who had held out for deeper budget cuts. As reported by Roll Call, the new 1,000-plus page budget would cut federal spending by at least $1.5 trillion over 10 years and raise the nation’s $36.1 trillion borrowing limit by some $4 trillion. The nod to the borrowing increase comes less than a week after the top rating agency Moody’s lowered the U.S. credit rating from Aaa to Aa1.

Among the bill’s many pages are priorities that promote a culture of life, Leatherwood said.

“Passage of this bill is a significant step toward establishing a true culture of life in America,” he told Baptist Press. “Because this effort isn’t just about saving tax dollars, it’s about who we are morally as a nation. Preborn lives and families are at stake. Cutting off the hundreds of millions of dollars that flow to predatory organizations like Planned Parenthood will be a gut punch to the abortion industry. I should also note our other priorities that were included in this legislation.

“An expanded child tax credit, a refundable adoption tax credit, the removal of taxpayer funding for radical gender transition interventions, and improvements to charitable giving all made it into this bill. These items were all part of our legislative priorities that we provided to Congress.”

Specifically, ERLC said:

• In Defunding Planned Parenthood, the bill lists abortion providers as prohibited entities that cannot receive federal payments, including Medicaid reimbursements.
• The bill increases the child tax credit to $2,500 per child through 2028. After 2028, the full child tax credit would drop to $2,000 but be indexed to inflation.
• Refundability language regarding the adoption tax credit was included in the final bill, and the credit amount will be adjusted for inflation.
• Regarding charitable giving, even individuals who do not itemize can receive a partial deduction, up to $150 for single filers and $300 for joint filers through 2028.
• The bill prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars for gender transition procedures for both minors and adults.

Leatherwood specifically advocated for those priorities in his post at ERLC and through the resources ERLC affords the Southern Baptist family as an entity.

“Southern Baptists affirm the sanctity of every human life, including the preborn. Scripture testifies that every person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and that life begins at conception (Psalm 139:13-16),” Leatherwood said.

“The Baptist Faith and Message proclaims that children, from the moment of conception, are ‘a blessing and heritage from the Lord.’ Grounded in these biblical truths, we can recognize today’s action out of the House of Representatives as cause for celebration.”

Among ERLC’s advocacy for the measures included in the budget bill this year:

• In February, Leatherwood urged House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Frank Pallone to use the reconciliation process to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund Planned Parenthood.
• Leatherwood wrote a national op-ed highlighting Planned Parenthood’s heinous activity and implored lawmakers to defund the organization.
• This spring, the ERLC led SBC leaders and pastors in urging legislators to write a budget bill to strip Planned Parenthood and abortion providers of all federal funding. Since the launch of the ERLC’s campaign to defund Planned Parenthood, ERLC told Baptist Press, more than 30,000 people have joined the outcry.

The budget bill now goes to the U.S. Senate. No Democrats voted for the bill in the House, where two Republicans voted against it, Roll Call reported.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.)