Eight states are granting tax money to pro-life pregnancy-resource centers (PRCs): Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and Louisiana.
Those states will allocate about 13 million dollars to PRCs. Additionally, Arizona and Kansas are giving one-time grants. And on top of that, six states have ended all public funding of Planned Parenthood. Even though they collect the lion's share of family-planning funds, pro-abortion groups bristle when PRCs get any help from the government.
Jor-El Godsey, vice president of affiliate services for Heartbeat International, said it's in the state's best interest to promote life.
"I can certainly understand why a state would want to support its own citizens and certainly the growth of its state," she told Family News in Focus. "Every state is looking for positive impact for its own communities and this is a way that a state can do that."
Those thoughts are echoed by Kristen Hansen, vice president of communication at CareNet. She said the funds show states are interested in protecting babies and mothers.
"By supporting pregnancy centers," she said, "states are helping to protect these women and get them to places where they can make an informed decision on their own."
