Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is pushing back against what he sees as growing uncertainty in Washington over abortion policy, rejecting any flexibility on federal abortion funding and warning against loosening long-standing pro-life protections.“Federal dollars should not pay for abortion, period,” Cassidy told Blaze News.'The president is the straw that stirs the drink. He needs to be engaged. If he's not, we won't get a deal. If he does get engaged, we can get a deal.'Cassidy made the remarks in response to questions from Rebeka Zeljko of Blaze News following a Senate hearing that examined chemical abortion and federal health policy.President Donald Trump said pro-life advocates may need to be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, a decades-old provision that prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for most abortions.RELATED: Pro-abortion doctor gets dismantled by Hawley on men and pregnancy: 'I don't know how we can take you seriously' For many conservatives, Hyde has long been viewed as one of the final federal safeguards limiting government involvement in abortion.“I’m still not quite sure what he meant by that,” Cassidy said of Trump’s remarks, noting that the White House later appeared to walk them back. “Because he backed off on it a little bit.”As chair of the Senate Health Committee, Cassidy said the larger concern is not campaign rhetoric but policy decisions that, in his view, have quietly expanded abortion access through the back door, particularly with the abortion drug mifepristone.“It's not like Tylenol,” Cassidy told Blaze News.Cassidy pointed to Biden-era changes that allow mifepristone to be prescribed without an in-person doctor visit, a shift he said removed basic medical and ethical guardrails."This pill is only supposed to be given up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. If a woman who's at 20 weeks of pregnancy takes the pill, she could have a complication, a terrible complication. A woman with an ectopic pregnancy can have a complication."Cassidy also warned that the lack of oversight has opened the door to coercion and abuse.RELATED: 'Massive betrayal': Republicans, pro-life groups push back on Trump's call to loosen key abortion restriction Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images“The fact that you can go online, click in your name as Michael Smith — not a female, but Michael Smith — you can get a pill and then give it to your girlfriend without her knowledge, or force her to take it, is wrong,” he said.He argued that returning to pre-Biden rules would restore physician oversight, protect women from medical harm, and ensure that abortion is not treated as a routine, consequence-free decision.Cassidy was also asked about recent reporting that the Trump administration restored tens of millions of dollars in Title X funding to Planned Parenthood after a lawsuit was dismissed.Cassidy said he had not reviewed the specifics of the report but made his position clear.“I voted for Planned Parenthood to be defunded,” he said.The funding move has raised alarms among pro-life advocates, who argue that even restricted federal dollars ultimately prop up the nation’s largest abortion provider. The decision has added to frustration within the conservative base, particularly as chemical abortions now account for a growing share of procedures nationwide.RELATED: California's abortion 'trauma' sanctuary: Newsom refuses to extradite accused doctor to 'pro-life' Louisiana Photo by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesCassidy confirmed he is part of a group engaged in ongoing discussions with the White House as health care negotiations continue, including talks tied to the Affordable Care Act.'The president is the straw that stirs the drink," Cassidy said. "He needs to be engaged. If he's not, we won't get a deal. If he does get engaged, we can get a deal."While Cassidy said he remains hopeful the administration will ultimately strengthen pro-life policies through regulatory action, he acknowledged growing concern among conservatives that early promises are being tested by bureaucratic inertia.Asked about reports of rising abortion rates since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Cassidy said the issue goes beyond legislation.“We [members of Congress] are a reflection of culture,” he said. “We need our culture to change.”Cassidy pointed to pregnancy resource centers, adoption services, and community support as the real front lines of the pro-life movement.“It isn’t a congressman or a senator that makes that decision,” he said. “It is the people in our communities.”For now, Cassidy is drawing a clear line: no flexibility on Hyde, no normalization of chemical abortion, and no retreat from the pro-life safeguards conservatives have fought decades to secure.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!