On Tuesday NPR published a story titled, “Some states are restricting abortion. Others are spending millions to fund it.”
The article outlines how in the wake of last year’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, some states — such as Arkansas — have moved to restrict or prohibit abortion while others have doubled-down on pro-abortion legislation.
But there’s an important story here that NPR completely missed:
Many states that restrict or prohibit abortion also have taken unprecedented steps to provide support for women with unplanned pregnancies.
Last year the Arkansas Legislature appropriated $1 million in funding for grants to pregnancy help organizations.
That money has helped more than 20 charities in the state provide material support for women with unplanned pregnancies.
This year lawmakers voted to renew that $1 million in pro-life funding for the 2023-2024 budget cycle.
Arkansas isn’t alone.
The Associate Press reports that Tennessee is budgeting a whopping $20 million for pregnancy centers this year.
Texas allocated $50 million for pregnancy centers during the 2021-2022 fiscal year, and Missouri budgets approximately $6.5 million.
In fact, another AP report found public funding for pregnancy resource centers has spiked nationwide in recent years.
Pro-lifers aren’t interested in simply prohibiting abortion. The goal is to make abortion unnecessary and unthinkable. Funding pregnancy resource centers is one way to do that.
These centers give women real options besides abortion.
Many of them provide everything from ultrasounds and pregnancy tests to maternity clothes and adoption referrals — typically free of charge. They often operate on very tight budgets and rely heavily on volunteers and donations.
Pregnancy resource centers play a vital role in ending abortion, and these state-funded grants help them do exactly that.
