On Thursday, March 9, the House concurred on the Support for Mothers and Babies Act (HB 2002), which provides funding for Pregnancy Help organizations in West Virginia. This was one of the two priority legislative agenda items for West Virginians for Life, and the support it had was truly outstanding.
“There has never been a more exciting time to be pro-life in West Virginia! Nearly all mothers and babies are protected from abortion, which allows us to shift our focus from passing laws that protect them from the abortion industry to providing women with what they need to support themselves and their babies. To summarize, this legislation will drastically change the way we can care for our most vulnerable and their families,” said West Virginians for Life Legislative Director Sadie Keaton.
The West Virginia Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program establishes a fund of $1 million by the state. The DHHR will designate a third-party contractor which will manage the funding for Pregnancy Help Centers. These centers may be Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs), Maternity Homes, or Perinatal Hospice Centers across West Virginia. Only pro-life organizations who do not commit or refer for abortions may qualify to receive this funding. The funding can be used to purchase items for mothers, educational materials, equipment, perinatal hospice services, update facilities, hire medical staff, and more. PRCs are non-profit, pro-life organizations whose sole purpose is to provide free services, resources and emotional support to women and families in need.
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“West Virginia has nearly 30 pro-life Pregnancy Resource Centers throughout the state that provide help for mothers and babies in need. We have always supported these centers, and we are happy to help provide legislation to make state funding available to them with the goal of increasing services for this population,” said Wanda Franz, Ph.D., president of WVFL.
Governor Jim Justice declared his support for the Support for Mothers and Babies Act (HB 2002) at the State of the State. Follow the West Virginians for Life Facebook page to see when the bill signing will be. This page also contains updates on WVFL’s second piece of priority legislation, the Women’s Right to Know Act (SB 552).
