NC’s new state budget funds pregnancy centers that steer clients away from abortion
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It will get harder
For many people seeking abortions in North Carolina, the procedure is already difficult to obtain. As more Southern states restrict access, the state will feel pressure on its abortion clinics, while the newest budget puts taxpayer money into pregnancy centers that steer clients away from abortion. Looking ahead to the 2022 elections, battleground districts near Raleigh and Charlotte could decide the future of abortion in NC. What can local leaders do to protect clinics, and what does this all mean for those who need care?
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North Carolina’s new state budget includes over $3 million for pregnancy centers which critics claim dissuade women from having abortions.
Facilities known as crisis pregnancy centers generally oppose abortion and counsel their clients about alternatives as they deal with unplanned pregnancies, with some describing themselves as Christian ministries.
“They exist solely to block folks from accessing abortion either by limiting them or giving them false information about abortion and reproductive health care,” said Tara Romano, executive director of Pro-Choice NC. “So we certainly don’t like to see them getting state tax dollars.”
The budget provides funding for 11 such centers across the state, with individual allocations ranging from $100,000 to $500,000.
The News & Observer spoke with representatives of five of these centers. While most acknowledged their stance against abortion, they emphasized that dissuading women from abortions was not the sole purpose of their organizations.
“We do not seek to manipulate people,” said Rosemary Skalka, executive director of Havelock Pregnancy Center. “We seek to give people real facts — not just coming out of our mouths — but real scientific facts. And then we allow them without any judgment, without any coercion, to make the choice on their own.”
The nearly $28 billion budget passed both chambers of the Republican-controlled legislature with bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday.
Earlier, the Democratic governor signed an executive order aiming to protect abortion access in North Carolina, The N&O reported. Reporters asked him about the allocation for pregnancy centers in the budget.
“I don’t support this kind of funding,” Cooper said. “I certainly think that you need to make sure that you’re giving patients accurate information about all of their options, so I’m concerned about that funding. I’ll look at the entire budget.”
The budget comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Abortion is still legal in North Carolina, although top Republicans signaled interest in passing restrictions if they win a supermajority capable of overturning the governor’s veto in the next election.
Pregnancy centers and the legislature
Republicans began funding crisis pregnancy centers in 2011, when they introduced “Choose Life” license plates for drivers, with a portion of proceeds benefiting pregnancy centers. Since then, legislators have moved toward direct funding for these centers, much to the chagrin of progressive lawmakers.
“A woman who is facing an unintended pregnancy deserves medically accurate, comprehensive, and unbiased information,” Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Wake County Democrat, said in an email to The N&O. “But past budgets have done everything they can to undermine that by devoting millions towards organizations and clinics that are intent upon scaring women who require accurate and well-informed care.”
A 2012 academic study on crisis pregnancy centers in North Carolina found that 86% of the centers studied provided false or misleading information about abortion.
Last year, House Republicans proposed about $9 million for crisis pregnancy centers, but ended up allocating $500,000 a year to the Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, a nonprofit which oversees around 80 different pregnancy centers across the state. That budget also included a one-time payment of $1.2 million to CPCF for the 2021-2022 fiscal year and nearly $2.5 million for the following year.
Nine of the 10 pregnancy centers included in the latest budget are members of CPCF, which also operates under the name LifeLink Carolina. CPCF did not respond to multiple calls from The N&O.
Several of the pregnancy centers that The N&O spoke with said they requested the funds directly from their legislators, while others said they were surprised to find their clinics included in the budget.
Pregnancy center operations
Crisis pregnancy centers market themselves as resource centers for anxious mothers with unplanned pregnancies. Most offer pregnancy testing, and some do limited ultrasounds, but the main offering at most of these centers is classes.
Center organizers described classes on effective parenting, responsible budgeting, adoption procedures and post-abortion counseling.
“If a woman or man has experienced an abortion and they’re suffering emotionally from that experience, then we kind of walk with them through a study and support them to go through an emotional healing to help them overcome what they’re suffering with right now,” said Christine Moody, executive director of the Coastal Pregnancy Care Center in Morehead City.
Two of the centers that The N&O interviewed have instituted a points system with their classes. Parents earn points by attending regular classes on parenting, which they can then exchange for baby necessities like formula, diapers and clothes.
As for abortion, pregnancy center organizers said that women are free to make their own decisions.
“We don’t encourage any particular decision,” Holly Furches, executive director of Heartbeats Women’s Center in Mocksville, said. “We just believe that women should be able to make an informed decision and we also believe that nobody should have to go through a crisis alone.”
However, nearly all of the crisis pregnancy centers share the same disclaimer in their websites, saying that they do not refer or recommend abortions.
A full list of the pregnancy centers included in the budget, along with how much money they received, is included below.
- Davie Pregnancy Care Center, Inc.: $260,000
- Heartbeats – A Pregnancy Care Center, Inc.: $325,000
- Open Arms Pregnancy Support Services, Inc.: $500,000
- Salem Pregnancy Support Center, Inc.: $100,000
- H.E.L.P. Center, Inc.: $150,000
- Cabarrus Women’s Center, Inc.: $250,000
- Coastal Pregnancy Care Center, Inc.: $250,000
- Havelock Pregnancy Resource Center: $250,000
- Eastern Pregnancy Information Clinic: $250,000
- International Athletes’ Abolition Mission to support 1st Choice Pregnancy Resources of Pamlico County: $250,000
- Mountain Area Pregnancy Services: $500,000
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at https://campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "NC’s new state budget funds pregnancy centers that steer clients away from abortion."