Anti-Abortion Centers Have Received $500M More in State Funding Since “Dobbs”
This story was originally published by The 19th.
In the two years since Roe v. Wade’s overturn, states have increased public funding for anti-abortion centers — the non-medical facilities meant to dissuade people from terminating their pregnancies — by close to $500 million, according to a new analysis published today.
The analysis was compiled by Equity Forward, a research organization that supports abortion rights and specifically tracks anti-abortion centers, which are also known as crisis pregnancy centers. Researchers used state budget documents and legislation to track how much money has been invested in these centers since 1995, the first year they could verify public funding for them.
These facilities have become a flashpoint in the two years since Roe’s demise brought the end of federal abortion rights. They typically offer free pregnancy tests and sonograms, and some also provide parenting classes or diapers. But they are not regulated under the same standards as medical facilities and do not always employ staff health professionals.
That means those ultrasounds can be inaccurate and they can come with counseling meant to dissuade people from terminating their pregnancies. Still, in some states with abortions bans, pregnant patients — including those seeking terminations — have said such centers offer the only affordable option in their region for getting an ultrasound.
Even before the fall of Roe, these centers outnumbered abortion clinics three-to-one, according to research from........
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