Democrat Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has not been shy about voicing his stance against pregnancy centers. In a recent turn, Shapiro announced via the Pennsylvania Health Department a plan for a pilot program that mimics the concept of pregnancy centers and will be funded by Pennsylvania tax dollars.
This comes after one of the governor’s first efforts in office in August 2023 was to remove state funding from pregnancy centers affiliated with the longstanding Real Alternatives program.
Just a few months later, Shapiro’s Attorney General invited criticism of pregnancy centers statewide by placing a form on the state website labeled, “Report Reproductive Health Deceptive Activity.”
Shapiro has been invited to visit pregnancy centers by center directors and the Pennsylvania Pregnancy Wellness Collaborative (PPWC) ever since his administration declared these outrageous accusations against pregnancy centers. The PPWC is a grassroots network of pregnancy center leaders who are advocating in the best interest of maternal and child health needs in Pennsylvania.
The governor has yet to make a visit to any pregnancy help center.
In January, the Shapiro administration announced its “pilot project” pregnancy center model in Clinton County, Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen spoke at a press conference about the pilot project, listing the needs of pregnant women in the state and announcing the services that will be provided. These included pregnancy testing, prenatal vitamins, health assessments and vital sign monitoring, depression screenings, car seat safety checks, one-on-one educational sessions and material on a variety of prenatal and postpartum topics. The pilot will also offer social services referrals for mental health, substance abuse, WIC, SNAP, health coverage, food insecurity, housing, transportation and more.
Pregnancy centers and medical clinics across the commonwealth have been well attuned to the needs of pregnant women and their families for quite some time and have accordingly provided these same services, support, and referrals to women.
Jill Hartman, executive director of A Woman’s Concern Pregnancy Center in Lancaster, Pa., and part of the leadership team of the PPWC, noted how the governor is planning to spend taxpayer funds on something that already exists at no cost to taxpayers.
“What they are doing is spending 1.3 million on a two-year pilot that has already been provided by pregnancy centers across the state,” Hartman said.
Hartman drafted a document “Optimizing Maternal Health in Pennsylvania” on behalf of the PPWC, highlighting the services and successes of centers in the state.
“There are 87 centers in 161 locations throughout the commonwealth,” Hartman noted in the document. “These centers represent 78 percent of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania with focus on areas with the greatest need.”
Seventy-four of those centers provide medical care under the direction of a licensed medical provider.
The document also addressed the financial stress such services could mean for the state if not for private donor funding.
Pregnancy centers provide millions of dollars in necessary services that might otherwise become a financial burden for Pennsylvania. Total estimated materials and services are valued at $8, 902.457 according to the Pregnancy Center State Impact Report- 2022 Data from Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI)).
Pregnancy help advocates question whether Shapiro’s aim is to produce a center with all the services already provided by pregnancy centers - with one glaring exception: That these state-funded centers will refer for abortions.
While it has not been mentioned by state officials, centers need to be prepared, Hartman said.
Tweet This: Pa. pregnancy help advocates question whether Gov. Shapiro aims to replicate pregnancy help center services but then refer for abortions.
Hartman said pregnancy centers in the state outnumber Planned Parenthood centers nine to one.
“The positive part of (the pilot) is that the state is catching up to what pregnancy centers have been doing for 50-plus years,” said Hartman.
Tweet This: Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro's pregnancy center "pilot project" is catching up to what pregnancy help centers have been doing for 50-plus years.
PPWC President Sarah Bowen said the PPWC has been meeting regularly with its leadership team, and this has been part of discussions.
Hartman said the conversations at recent meetings have included a desire to further raise the bar with services in pregnancy centers. Hartman said her center specifically is looking at assessments such as blood pressure screenings and a closer look at relationship education. Other ways to provide further care under consideration include nurse consultation appointments which are already being offered in some centers in the state.
“We are so proud of what we do and recognize what’s most needed in our centers,” Hartman said.
Bowen concurred in expressing the unique value of the services and support provided by the state’s pregnancy help organizations.
“Pregnancy centers are grassroots organizations tailored to the needs in their specific communities, governed by their communities, and funded by their communities,” Bowen said. “This kind of investment can't be replicated with a state program.”
Tweet This: The investment and impact of grassroots pregnancy centers can't be replicated with a state program.
