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In a new twist in the fight over abortion access, Republicans in Congress are trying to block the Biden administration’s spending rules that they say would cut millions of dollars in spending for anti-abortion counseling centers.
The rule would prohibit states from sending federal funds earmarked for poor Americans to so-called crisis pregnancy centers that provide anti-abortion counseling. At stake are millions of dollars in federal funds currently flowing to these organizations through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The program is a block grant program created in 1996 to provide cash assistance to poor children and prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies.
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Programs that only provide pregnancy counseling only after a woman becomes pregnant, or that provide pregnancy counseling primarily to women, are likely not to meet standards, the Health and Human Services Agency said in a proposed rule released late last year. Ta.
More than 7,000 comments were submitted on the proposed rule, which includes a series of restrictions on how states can spend TANF funds.
The proposal to limit funding to anti-abortion counseling centers is the Biden administration’s latest attempt to introduce federal policies to expand access to abortion. Meanwhile, since the U.S. Supreme Court stripped women of their federal right to abortion in 2022, conservative states have severely restricted that care.
Congressional Republicans introduced a bill this week that would block the Health and Human Services Administration from limiting funding from the center. There is zero chance that this bill will pass this year.
Rep. Darin LaHood, Republican of Illinois, said Thursday during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the bill that pregnancy centers are an important and essential option for pregnant women.
Anti-abortion counseling centers have become an increasingly popular way for conservatives to preach against abortion, and an Associated Press investigation last year found that states have sent increasing amounts of money to the programs over the past decade. It turned out that
Since 2010, more than a dozen states have contributed about $500 million in taxpayer dollars to the center. Last year, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor cut funding for all centers from the state budget.
The center’s mission is controversial, not only because its staff often advise pregnant patients not to have an abortion, but also because of concerns about abortion and contraception, including that abortion can cause breast cancer. Critics say this is because it can provide misleading information.
Most centers are religiously affiliated and are not licensed medical facilities. They typically offer pregnancy tests, but some offer limited medical services such as ultrasounds.
The Human Coalition, an anti-abortion group based in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Texas, estimates it will lose millions of dollars in funding, said the group’s director of national public policy. Chelsea Yuman said.
He added that if the rule passes, expansion plans to Louisiana and Indiana could be put on hold.
Youman claims her organization connects women with social services such as Medicaid and helps persuade them to continue with their pregnancies.
Ms. Youman said our work is about genuine compassion and loving care for women who are sometimes facing the most difficult moments of their lives.
HHS is proposing several adjustments that would change how states use the $16.5 billion block grant intended for the nation’s neediest households. The proposal comes on the heels of a high-profile corruption scandal in Mississippi that saw $77 million in TANF funds wasted over several years.
This limit will ultimately limit funds that benefit middle- and high-income earners, with the agency predicting that the proportion of poor families receiving cash assistance has increased from nearly 70% in 1996 to 21% in 2018. It was announced that the figure had fallen by just over %. 2020.
The plan would limit how the state could spend money on things like college scholarships and child care.
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