The Kristan Hawkins Show – Ep. 43

Title: My ONE Christmas Wish!
Date: December 16, 2025
Host: Kristan Hawkins

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kristan Hawkins dives into the intersection of U.S. health policy, federal funding, and abortion. She explains how Obamacare facilitates abortion funding, details her movement’s plan to permanently defund Planned Parenthood (her "one Christmas wish"), and outlines actionable steps for listeners to influence policy as reconciliation 2.0 looms in Congress. She also covers a recent Supreme Court hearing impacting pro-life pregnancy centers and discusses a troubling report about women giving birth in jail under inhumane conditions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Obamacare and Abortion Funding

• The Issue: Hawkins claims that Obamacare (ACA) is a major federal funding stream for abortion, especially in Democrat-led states, despite the Hyde Amendment’s limits.
  • The Hyde Amendment is a budget rider that must be renewed yearly, blocking federal funds under appropriations from being used for abortion, except in specific cases.
  • However, Hyde protection does not apply to all streams—specifically, federal insurance subsidies under the ACA, which means, “Obamacare has been essentially funding abortion.” (03:23)
• Personal Example (Idaho Exchange):
  • Hawkins describes her frustrating experience trying to get insurance due to outrageous premiums and lack of options, blaming Obamacare’s structure which, in her view, forces government-subsidized, high-cost, low-quality plans, some of which cover abortion in blue states (07:10).
• Maryland “Abortion Slush Fund”:
  • Maryland mandates exchange plans cover abortion, resulting in a $25 million fund specifically for abortion, with millions funneled to nonprofit abortion funds offering services (including late-term) to out-of-state residents (15:18).
  • Quote:

    “They literally advertise free abortions either in state or out of state, and even pay for abortion travel.” (16:49)

• Legislative Ramifications:
  • Pro-lifers are pushing to attach permanent Hyde protections to funding streams like Obamacare subsidies—“Hide or die, baby.” (28:48)
  • Democrats see Hyde restrictions on subsidies as a nonstarter, as shown by the government shutdown battle over ACA subsidy renewals.

2. The Plan: Defund Planned Parenthood for Christmas

• The Christmas Wish:
  • Hawkins’ “one Christmas wish” is permanent, comprehensive defunding of Planned Parenthood.
  • Launch of a “12 Days of Christmas: 12 Days to Defund Planned Parenthood” initiative, offering daily actions for listeners to pressure lawmakers (36:38).
  • Actions Include:
    • Calling for “debarment” of Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funds for at least 3 years.
      • Definition: Administrative action blocking entities shown to break laws from doing federal business (43:54).
      • Justification: Repeated lawbreaking, Medicaid fraud, illegal activities, illegal COVID funds, and unsafe conditions.
      • Quote:

        “Debarment is the most direct way to defund Planned Parenthood. … We know Planned Parenthood has disqualified themselves from getting federal funds.” (43:54)

    • Ensuring upcoming “reconciliation 2.0” legislative package extends Planned Parenthood defunding for at least 10 years (Senate parliamentarian previously reduced it from 10 years to 1).
      • Quote:

        “Now we know they can do it. … Guess what? We did it. Now we got to do it again.” (53:55)

    • Codifying the Hyde Amendment so it's permanent, not a budget rider.
      • Call to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and Abortion Insurance Disclosure Act.
      • Forcing Senate Democrats to go on record regarding taxpayer-funded abortion, leveraging wide public opposition.
  • Notable Moment (Planned Parenthood’s Self-Reporting):
    • Hawkins highlights Planned Parenthood’s “bragging” about killing 402,000 babies in a year, “their all-time record” (38:00).
    • Links their funding sources directly to abortion outcomes: “If you want to reduce abortions in your state...take away the funding of abortions.” (19:28)

3. Supreme Court: Pregnancy Center Case

• Case:
  • First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in New Jersey, a Christian pro-life pregnancy network, challenged a subpoena from the state AG demanding donor lists and internal materials (01:04:20).
    • Arguing that compelled donor disclosure violates First Amendment and chills free association.
    • Broader threat: If governments can force and expose donors’ names, donors may be intimidated into pulling support (01:09:23).
    • Historical reference: Prop 8 in California, donor exposure led to job loss and harassment.
  • Implications:
    • The Court must decide whether such organizations can bypass state courts for federal protections.
    • Students for Life Action is involved in a parallel advocacy case versus South Dakota.
    • The story underlines ongoing efforts (including proposed national legislation) to clamp down on political donor anonymity.

4. Exposé: Women Giving Birth in Jail Alone

• Report Details:
  • NBC and Bloomberg Law highlighted 54 cases nationwide of pregnant incarcerated women denied adequate care (01:16:00).
    • Examples:
      • A Kentucky woman chewed through her umbilical cord after giving birth alone.
      • A Georgia woman’s son died after she begged for help for 13 hours.
      • A California officer stopped at Starbucks en route to the hospital; the baby died.
      • At least two mothers died from preventable complications.
    • Cases span both red and blue states; poor outcomes often related to pre-existing vulnerabilities (e.g., addiction) are exacerbated by lack of care.
• Legal Context:
  • 1976 Supreme Court, Estelle v. Gamble: Prisons have a constitutional obligation to provide medical care (01:18:20).
  • Calls for federal standards and more rigorous oversight; “Pregnancy involves two patients, baby and mother.” (01:19:24)
• Memorable Quote:

  “These babies did not deserve this. No one deserved that.” (01:23:03)

Notable Quotes

• On Obamacare Funding:

  “Obamacare has been essentially funding abortion and why the pro-life movement was right in 2010 to say Obamacare is the largest expansion of abortion ever in the federal government beyond Roe v. Wade.” (04:20)

• On Government Shutdown and Policy:

  “Pro-abortion Democrats have said that subsidies with Hyde protections are a complete nonstarter. … They literally said they would rather shut down the government… all because of one thing: abortion funding.” (15:00)

• On Defunding Planned Parenthood:

  “We know Planned Parenthood kills over a thousand babies a day by starving them, by poisoning them, by vacuuming them out of their mother’s wombs, by dismembering them. They literally go to work every day in the killing fields.” (38:00)

• On Donor Privacy:

  “When people... want to see a list of donors, what they will do 100% is they will release those names... to put pressure on the donors to stop giving because they realize if they stop giving, the agency, the organization can’t survive.” (01:09:23)

• On Prisoner Maternity Care:

  “Pregnancy involves two patients, baby and mother. And it’s well known that birth outcomes can be very bad when there’s no medical supervision, sterile environment or support for mom.” (01:19:24)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Obamacare and Abortion Funding Loophole: 02:15 – 18:50
• Personal Health Insurance Exchange Story: 07:10 – 11:45
• Maryland’s Abortion Slush Fund: 13:45 – 18:50
• Making Hyde Law / Calls to Action: 26:40 – 34:52
• 12 Days to Defund Planned Parenthood Campaign: 36:38 – 43:54
• Debarment Process Explained: 43:54 – 49:40
• Reconciliation 2.0 and Parliamentarian Controversy: 50:20 – 56:10
• Supreme Court Pregnancy Center Case: 01:04:20 – 01:12:00
• Jail Births Exposé: 01:16:00 – 01:23:03

Tone and Language

Kristan Hawkins speaks with a sense of urgency, conviction, and directness. She uses strong pro-life language (“killing fields,” “defund them for good,” “abortion slush fund”), calls for decisive action, and frames each topic in stark moral and legal terms. She frequently addresses listeners as “pro-life Jen” and emphasizes community engagement.

Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode offers a comprehensive look at how health policy and government funding impact abortion services in the U.S., why Kristan Hawkins and her movement are launching a campaign to permanently defund Planned Parenthood, and actionable steps for pro-life advocates as Congress prepares major legislation. It also features a deep dive into threats to pro-life advocacy groups' donor privacy and exposes disturbing failures in the medical care of pregnant incarcerated women.

For further participation and daily actions, listeners are directed to join the “12 Days to Defund Planned Parenthood” initiative via StudentsForLifeAction.org/12days.