Many Republican-led states have been creating legislation to expand benefits for pregnant women and new mothers — in addition to efforts to protect the unborn from abortion — since the leak in May of a draft of the Supreme Court decision that would impact Roe v. Wade.
This pushes back on the left’s narrative that pro-life advocates only care about the unborn child and not the woman facing an unplanned pregnancy.
That narrative also ignores the work of pregnancy resource centers — which provide financial and practical support, including job training and medical care — that have come under attack from violent pro-abortion protestors across the country.
Violence against pregnancy centers, including the firebombing of pro-life groups, has seen a sharp rise since the draft Supreme Court decision on abortion was leaked in May.
The Guardian reported on these efforts to support women in crisis:
Some of those same lawmakers are now passing bills that extend Medicaid benefits to low-income mothers, typically for one year after they give birth rather than the current two months. Arizona, Florida, Tennessee and Texas have all extended health benefits for low-income mothers in recent months.
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In Texas, for example – a state where one-quarter of women of reproductive age lack health insurance, the highest rate in the nation, and which is among the 10 worst states for maternal mortality – lawmakers recently expanded Medicaid to pregnant patients for six months after giving birth, instead of two.
A single adult supporting two children cannot earn more than $2,760 a year and qualify for Medicaid – unless they are pregnant, in which case they can earn up to $45,600 a year and qualify. However, the exemption previously lasted just 60 days after birth – the federal minimum – after which most people become uninsured once again.
The Guardian report that Alabama Republican state representative Debbi Wood is working to expand benefits to pregnant and new moms.
In Tennessee, Republican governor Bill Lee linked postpartum Medicaid expansion and abortion. Lee said at a press conference in May that the mother is just as important as the child.
“The lives of unborn children – it’s very important that we protect the lives of them,” Lee said.
“It’s also important that we recognize that women in crisis need support and assistance through this process,” Lee said.
Focus on the Family published information online about the holistic work of pregnancy crisis centers:
Programs like Embrace Life refute one common accusation against pregnancy resource centers and pro-lifers in general – that their only concern is that the baby is born, with little thought given to helping the mothers and children afterward. Yet nothing could be further from the truth as many work to support birth mothers.
“We believe brave moms raise brave kids, and spiritually healthy moms raise spiritually healthy kids,” Ford says. “We want to get that cycle started. We’ve helped empower more than 6,000 women, and we’re seeing them change the [negative] patterns that have gone on in their families for, in some cases, generations. They say, ‘I’m going to break this pattern and create new legacies for my children and my children’s children.’”
Cindi Boston, vice president of Heartbeat International, a pregnancy resource center (PRC) network, spoke of another aspect of the labor of love PRCs often provide: communicating with the fathers of the babies.
Speaking of some of the men who had not intended to be a part of their child’s life, but “change(d) their minds simply because a male mentor spoke plainly to them,” Boston said, “They had an older man talk about the responsibilities of being a dad – and the joys of being a dad. The young men rose to the occasion, got involved, and stayed involved. They eventually married their child’s mom and built good lives together.”
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