RALEIGH — Crisis pregnancy centers and related pregnancy prevention services will receive tens of millions in the current state budget.
Under the proposed budget, $6.25 million in recurring funds for each year of the budget would be appropriated to the Division of Public Health under the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). The division is directed to allocate that funding to the nonprofit group Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship (CPCF)
The spending breakdown of the $12.5 million in total funding to CPCF includes $2.9 million to provide grants for services to pregnancy centers operating in the state, $1 million in grants to centers for buying durable medical equipment and to pay for pregnancy care training and training on the use of the equipment purchased, half a million for grants to cover costs of nonreligious, nonsectarian educational training and resources regarding pregnancy, and $4.2 million to fund operation of CPCF’s Circle of Care Program.
Another $3 million over the two-year budget was appropriated from the American Rescue Plan’s Temporary Savings Fund to NCDHHS’s Public Health Division to be allocated to The Human Coalition for its statewide “Continuum of Care” program, which offers women ”long-term assistance through a network of support services.”
“Pregnancy care centers are a vital resource supporting pregnant women and their babies,” NC Values Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald said in a statement praising the spending.
“The ability to see your child on an ultrasound before making a life and death decision for your child is imperative, so funding ultrasound machines was an important component of this appropriation.”
The budget also codifies limitations on state funds used for abortion services, stating that no funds can be used by a state agency “to renew or extend existing contracts or enter into new contracts for the provision of family planning services, pregnancy prevention activities, or adolescent parenting programs with any provider that performs abortions.” An exception to that limitation is payments to health care providers for services authorized under the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees or the Medicaid program.
Under Maternal and Child Health Block grants, funds appropriated to NCDHH’s Division of Public Health are listed as $3,538,541 for 2024-24 and 2024-25. Of those funds, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives will receive $650,000, Perinatal and Neonatal Outreach Coordinator Contracts will get $440,000, and Mountain Area Pregnancy Services will receive $50,000. At least 90% of the funds allocated to Mountain Area Pregnancy Services is to be used for direct services.
Mountain Area Pregnancy Services was attacked by vandals in the days following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs case which returned abortion decisions to the states.
North Carolina U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, both Republicans, issued a letter to state Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, asking him to protect crisis pregnancy centers in the state as well as investigate the Mountain Area attack. Stein’s response was to dodge the inquiry about investigating the attack and told the senators that “any North Carolinian who fears for their safety should contact local law enforcement immediately.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. House passed a resolution condemning attacks on crisis pregnancy centers by a vote of 222-208. All but three House Democrats voted against the resolution including all Democratic members of North Carolina’s U.S. House congressional delegation. The state’s Republican members voted yes.
