HHS Secretary Launches Stealth Attack on Pregnancy Centers
Plans rule change that would hurt needy people in 4 states
Joe Biden’s HHS secretary, Xavier Becerra, a radical abortion promoter, is launching a stealth attack on pro-life pregnancy centers in four states, according to the SBA Pro-Life America organization.
His plan is to ban the use of TANF dollars, those available under the program for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, in pro-life pregnancy centers.
According to SBA’s Katie Daniel, such a move goes directly against the support among the American people for the centers.
The rule change, proposed “stealthily” by Becerra weeks ago, would ban the use of TANF funding for pregnancy resource centers in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Indiana.
Those four states, individually, use some $1 million to $7 million for those centers now.
Daniel said the funding is only a drop in the bucket next to the $670 million taxpayer dollars that went to the abortion industry giant Planned Parenthood in 2021-2022.
“Biden’s twisted attempt to hinder pregnancy centers’ ability to serve women in need demonstrates his administration is not pro-choice, but pro-abortion. Sixty percent of women who have had abortions say they would have preferred to give birth if they had more financial or emotional support. Yet, Democrats have gone out of their way to ensure women facing unexpected pregnancies are steered toward only one option – abortion,” she said.
Becerra has chosen to single out pregnancy centers in his ideological move, the SBA report said.
“On its face, the rule is not viewpoint neutral. . . HHS scrutiny of a state including Pregnancy Resource Centers in its TANF program seems tied to a Center’s disfavored (by the current administration) views rather than whether it is a good partner that is successfully effectuating the purposes of TANF,” explained SBA and the Charlotte Lozier Institute in comments on the plan.
Lawmakers from those states already have objected.
“The proposed rule suggests PRCs are not good partners for state-run TANF programs. We disagree with that assertion and contend this is for the states to decide. As elected officials, voted for and held accountable by our neighbors, we are closest to the people and know which entities within our communities can best fulfill the goals of TANF to help families flourish,” they said.
One executive of a pregnancy center, who request anonymity, said, “Our clinic serves over 150 families each year. When a woman with an unexpected pregnancy first walks through our doors we welcome her with open arms and assist her in every way we can for almost two years – from free ultrasounds, medical exams, and counseling, to food, diapers, furniture, and clothing after her baby is born. We offer mentoring, educational programs and financial assistance too during that time – help with housing, transportation, utilities, and even college tuition. It’s unfortunate this new policy harms the women and families TANF was created to help.”
The latest move is just a continuation of Biden’s war against such centers.
“In 2022, Yelp placed a discriminatory warning label on centers, a move which 14 Democrat attorneys general praised in a recent letter. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats have called for pregnancy centers to be shut down. Colorado, this year, passed a law banning abortion pill reversal (APR) treatment. Additionally, California Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing two pregnancy centers for helping women save the lives of their babies with APR,” SBA said.
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