Taxpayers’ money once spent on funding abortions could now be permanently safeguarded for pregnancy centers to support women and families. The federal government grants more than $16 billion every year to support families, and soon that could include protecting life.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., has reintroduced the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act to protect funding for pregnancy centers and provide critical support for families.
“Supporting women means ensuring they have real resources, real care, and real options,” Scott said. He said the bill will offer “guidance, support, and critical services, so no mother faces pregnancy or parenthood alone.”
The legislation was originally introduced during the Biden administration, when the former president funded abortion centers with federal grants administered through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. President Joe Biden introduced a spending rule that would block states from supporting pregnancy centers with funds from the program. Scott’s previous bill aimed to block that spending rule.
“Pregnancy resource centers have a long history of empowering women on their journey to motherhood, and it’s unconscionable that the Biden Health and Human Services Department attempted to undercut their funding,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a co-sponsor, said in a press release.
Scott and the co-sponsors have now expanded the legislation to ensure that money from Social Security and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is safeguarded for pregnancy centers and community centers. The bill defines pregnancy centers as organizations that “support protecting the life of the mother and unborn child.”
The legislation not only promotes life but also supports families after birth. Grants would be allocated to community centers that offer family services such as “relationship counseling, prenatal and pregnancy education, pregnancy testing, diapers, baby clothes, or other material supports.”
The legislation is supported by key players in the pro-life movement, including National Right to Life, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, March for Life Action, Students for Life Action, Concerned Women for America, and Family Policy Alliance.
The House passed companion legislation, introduced by Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., in January. Both the House-passed bill and the new Senate bill have been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, where Scott and co-sponsors Cornyn and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., all serve.
“Pregnancy resource centers play an important role in our communities,” Young said. “They provide critical care to women and families, including parenting education, counseling, and material support like diapers and baby supplies.”
