In a political climate where the stakes for reproductive health care and congressional power have never felt higher, Planned Parenthood and its allies are waging a two-front battle: one in the nation’s largest state, California, and another in Colorado, where lawmakers are scrambling to restore critical funding after sweeping federal cuts. The efforts, unfolding in late August 2025, underscore the mounting tension between state and federal policies, and the deepening divide over access to reproductive health services in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
On August 25, 2025, Planned Parenthood threw its weight behind California Democrats in a bid to redraw the state’s congressional maps. The move, as reported by KFF Health News, is a direct response to what abortion rights groups describe as Republican efforts to entrench their power after passing unpopular cuts to Medicaid and imposing new restrictions on reproductive care. Jodi Hicks, CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, captured the mood with a pointed declaration during Governor Gavin Newsom’s pitch for the new maps: “You take away our freedoms, we’ll take away your seats.” Hicks emphasized that her organization—which represents about one in five Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide—would “go all in” on the campaign to support Newsom’s ballot measure, though she declined to specify how much Planned Parenthood would spend.
The proposed maps, crafted by Newsom’s allies, would temporarily replace those drawn by California’s independent redistricting commission. If approved by lawmakers, the final say would rest with voters in a November special election. The plan is designed to counter what Democrats see as a Republican attempt to secure a fragile five-seat advantage in the U.S. House by gerrymandering in Texas. Newsom, eyeing a potential 2028 presidential run, has positioned the effort as a necessary defense against GOP moves that threaten blue states’ autonomy and the broader principle of fair representation.
Since the Supreme Court’s landmark reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, conservative states like Texas have enacted near-total abortion bans. The Republican-passed tax-and-spending bill, signed by President Donald Trump earlier in 2025, delivered what Democrats describe as the largest Medicaid cut in U.S. history—nearly $1 trillion over ten years. The law stripped Medicaid funding from organizations such as Planned Parenthood, even for nonabortion services like cancer screenings and birth control. The Trump administration also barred Planned Parenthood and its affiliates from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for these services, though a federal judge has temporarily paused enforcement while a legal challenge proceeds.
Hicks and other reproductive rights advocates are not alone in this fight. National organizations like Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL) have praised Newsom for “holding Republicans accountable for trying to steal votes.” In Texas, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes has mobilized supporters to speak out during special session meetings and launched webinars to “stop the redistricting power grab.” The national Planned Parenthood Action Fund has urged Democratic state leaders to use “all tools in their power to push back, level the national playing field, and stop the slide into authoritarianism.”
Yet, the proposed redistricting has drawn fierce criticism from California Republicans. Corrin Rankin, chair of the California Republican Party, called Newsom’s proposal a “calculated power grab that dismantles the very safeguards voters put in place” with the state’s 2010 congressional redistricting reform. Republican incumbents, some of whom could lose their seats under the new maps, argue that “mid-decade redistricting is wrong, no matter where it’s being done,” as Rep. Doug LaMalfa put it on social media. Political strategists warn that such moves could set off a “redistricting apocalypse,” with states like Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, and Ohio considering similar actions, potentially sowing chaos in the 2026 midterms and beyond.
Public opinion remains a crucial factor. According to a July 2025 KFF survey, nearly half of adults believe the Republican tax-and-spending law will hurt them, while a May Gallup poll found that more than half of Americans support legal abortion under at least some circumstances. Democratic leaders argue that the Republican cuts to Medicaid and reproductive health care will have dire consequences for millions of low-income Americans, a message echoed by Sabrina Cervantes, chair of the California Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee: “They know that voters will hold them accountable for the cuts they rammed through Congress that will strip health care away from millions of people. Because they know they cannot win fair elections, they are changing the rules in the middle of the game.”
Meanwhile, in Colorado, the battle has shifted from redistricting to emergency legislative action. On August 24, 2025, the Colorado House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 25B-2 in a 43-19 party-line vote, sending it to Governor Jared Polis’s desk for signature. The bill, as covered by KKTV and Colorado Newsline, would use state funds to reimburse Medicaid payments for reproductive health care providers—including Planned Parenthood—that have been hit by the federal funding cuts. The measure aims to restore access to services like STD screenings and HIV treatments, which had been jeopardized after the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” took effect in July.
Jack Teter, vice president of government affairs for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, described a “health care access disaster” that began when the federal law was signed. In the immediate aftermath, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains was forced to cancel 991 appointments, leaving patients in limbo. The provision targeting Planned Parenthood has been paused by the courts, but the uncertainty persists. Testifying before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Boulder resident Lilly Boyd recounted how her follow-up appointment after a medication abortion was canceled, leading to a medical emergency. “You’ve heard that ensuring patients on Medicaid can return to Planned Parenthood is a matter of life and death,” Boyd said. “Please know this is not an exaggeration. For many people, myself included, that was the reality we faced following Planned Parenthood being kicked out of the federal Medicaid program.”
Democratic leaders in Colorado have framed the bill as an urgent response to the largest Medicaid cuts in U.S. history and a necessary safeguard for the state’s residents. Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, put it simply: “All Coloradans, whether or not they are a Medicaid recipient, deserve access to reproductive health care.” The bill’s fiscal note estimates a maximum cost of $4.4 million for the current fiscal year, a figure that drew criticism from Republicans like Rep. Brandi Bradley, who argued that the state should not prioritize Planned Parenthood amid budget gaps. Yet, more than 150 volunteers and advocates have rallied at the Capitol in support of the measure, underscoring the depth of public concern.
As the legislative process in Colorado continues and California prepares for a high-stakes ballot fight, the national debate over reproductive rights and health care funding shows no signs of abating. These state-level battles may well shape the contours of congressional power and access to care for years to come.
