States Bolster Funding for Pro-Life Pregnancy Resource Centers

Abortion, , , ,

Since the 2022 Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade, state legislatures around the country have bolstered state funding for pregnancy help organizations that provide women with alternatives to abortion.

For years, pro-life states have provided publicly funded grants and subsidies for pregnancy resource centers that help women with unplanned pregnancies. Those efforts have accelerated in recent months.

In Ohio, lawmakers raised the state’s biannual budget for pregnancy resource centers this year from $6 million to $14 million.

In Tennessee this year, legislators appropriated $20 million for pro-life organizations that provide alternatives to abortion. Florida’s state budget allocates $30 million pregnancy help organizations.

Texas offers $100 million per biennium for its abortion alternatives program.

Kansas — where some 405 women from Arkansas had abortions in 2022 — will provide $2 million in funding for pregnancy centers during the coming budget cycle.

This year the Arkansas Legislature voted to provide $1 million in grant funding for pregnancy help organizations that offer women and families alternatives to abortion.

Many of these organizations 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.

Now that Roe v. Wade has been reversed and Arkansas has prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother, we need to step up and help women with unplanned pregnancies.

Providing grant funding for pregnancy help organizations is part of our long term strategy to reduce the demand for abortion in Arkansas.

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Mark Lowery Was a True Champion for Homeschooling in Arkansas

In Memoriam
Above: Rep. Mark Lowery and Jerry Cox visit following passage of Act 820 of 2021 prohibiting public schools in Arkansas from engaging in transactions with abortion providers.

On Wednesday Family Council learned Arkansas Treasurer Mark Lowery passed away at the age of 66.

Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement, saying, “Mark Lowery was a true champion for homeschooling. Legislation he sponsored over the years not only helps current homeschoolers, but it will help generations of homeschoolers yet unborn. Mark’s commitment to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was evident in the legislation he sponsored and in his statesmanship as a public servant. We need more elected officials like Mark Lowery. I consider him a true and faithful friend.”

As a state legislator, Mark Lowery sponsored many good bills, including:

  • Act 1469 of 2013, Arkansas’ “Tim Tebow” law that lets homeschoolers participate in interscholastic activities at public schools.
  • Act 635 of 2017 making it easier for home schoolers to file their Notice of Intent to Home School online or by mail.
  • Act 592 of 2017 letting home schoolers participate in interscholastic activities outside their resident school district if both school districts agree.
  • Act 453 of 2017 amending the state’s “Tim Tebow” law by letting home schoolers participate in interscholastic activities at any private school within 25 miles of the student’s home if the private school is a member of the Arkansas Activities Association and agrees to let the home schooler participate.
  • Act 173 of 2017 letting home schoolers take courses at their local public schools if the school is willing to enroll them.
  • Act 863 of 2017 requiring public schools to give home schoolers who re-enroll in school the very same rights and privileges as public school students and generally preventing the school from denying a home schooler appropriate class credits, proper grade level placement, and the ability to graduate.
  • Act 429 of 2019 preventing schools from charging home schooled students extra to take concurrent credit courses for college credit.
  • Act 430 of 2019 making it easier for home schooled students to access academic courses offered though the local public school system.
  • Act 820 of 2021 prohibiting public schools in Arkansas from engaging in transactions with abortion providers.
  • Act 623 of 2021 making it easier for a student to withdraw from a public school to home school.

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