Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Democratic Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced on Monday the creation of a government-funded campaign against pregnancy resource centers.
The government plans to spend $1 million on advertisements in “social media, billboards, radio, and transit,” according to the press release. The goal of the campaign is to show the “dangers and potential harm” of pregnancy resource centers (PRCs), calling them “anti-abortion centers”.
“In Massachusetts, we are committed to protecting and expanding access to safe and legal abortion,” Healey said. “That includes protecting patients from the deceptive and dangerous tactics that anti-abortion centers often use to stop people from accessing comprehensive reproductive services.”
The campaign was created in tandem with pro-abortion non-profit Reproductive Equity Now Foundation, according to the press release. The non-profit received $200,000 in 2021 from the New Venture Fund, a non-profit managed by Arabella Advisors, a left-leaning consultancy group who granted nearly $896 million in 2020 to mostly left-leaning non-profits. (RELATED: Federal Court Sentences 75-Year-Old Pro-Life Protester To Two Years In Prison For Role In Abortion Clinic Blockade)
Pro-life advocates in Massachusetts voiced their disapproval for the campaign. The Pregnancy Care Alliance of Massachusetts told Catholic News Agency (CNA) that these centers provide “millions of dollars in no-cost support and care for thousands of women annually who face planned and unplanned pregnancies.”
Pregnant? Looking for information on your options? Avoid anti-abortion centers. They may mislead you or delay your care. Find care that you can trust at: https://t.co/dbTkT4v1Nl pic.twitter.com/Y37Wcx8vw8
— Mass. Public Health (@MassDPH) June 11, 2024
Myrna Flynn, the president of the Pregnancy Care Alliance of Massachusetts, also told CNA, “Gov. Healey, who describes herself as a Catholic, to direct $1 million of taxpayer money to an effort that is strategically designed to steer women away from PRCs and into abortion clinics instead effectively conveys one message: In this state, politically-generated abortion revenue matters more than women, their dignity, and the very lives of their children.”
This comes after Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell opened a “reproductive justice unit” in 2023 to crack down on pregnancy resource centers, seeking to charge groups who “deceive people seeking comprehensive reproductive services.” Massachusetts has some of the most lax abortion laws in the country, allowing cases beyond 24 weeks of pregnancy with doctors approval.
Pregnancy resource centers have been under more scrutiny since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision sent jurisdiction on abortion back to state legislatures. They have become the target of attacks at their locations, with vandalism increasing after the verdict in 2022.
Healey’s Office has not immediately responded to a request for comment.
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