For Immediate Release: March 28, 2023
Contact: Kelsey Pritchard, [email protected]
Legislature Allocates $1 Million for First Year of Program
CHARLESTON, W. Va. – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice today signed HB 2002 into law to support mothers during pregnancy and after a child is born. The new law establishes the West Virginia Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program to support mothers by creating a funding mechanism for the state’s pregnancy help centers.
Gov. Justice’s signature comes two days after a West Virginia abortion facility announced it will open up for business five miles from the West Virginia border in Cumberland, Maryland. Under its new name, “The Women’s Health Center of Maryland” will perform abortions well into the second trimester on babies with beating hearts who can feel pain. This week’s developments reveal the stark contrast between the neighboring states’ respect for human rights, says Caitlin Connors, southern regional director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America:
“West Virginia’s pregnancy centers empower women and impact lives for the better every day. These organizations provide free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, medical exams, counseling, parent classes, financial classes, and resources such as food, diapers, clothing, and financial assistance for housing and utilities. The pregnancy help centers are engaging in a labor of love. West Virginia’s former abortion facility has chosen a very different path – setting up shop just across the border in Maryland to make a profit at the expense of human lives. This is possible because of Maryland’s extreme anti-child, anti-woman laws that allow abortion on demand at any point in pregnancy for virtually any reason.
“Thanks to bill sponsor Del. Dean Jeffries’ and Gov. Justice’s leadership, West Virginia continues its legacy of being a state that values women and the unborn.”
The West Virginia Legislature has allocated $1 million for the first year of the Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program. Under provisions in HB 2002, abortion industry organizations and abortion advocates may not be awarded funding.
HB 2002 also increases West Virginia’s adoption tax credit from $4,000 to $5,000 and states that adopted children are eligible for early interventions services, including Birth To Three and Right From The Start.
The West Virginia law is the latest example of the post-Dobbs trend in which pro-life states are advancing measures to support moms. State legislatures across the country are currently considering bills to allocate dollars for pregnancy help centers, eliminate sales tax on baby items, create childcare tax credits, extend postpartum Medicaid coverage, and support pregnant women and new mothers in a variety of other ways.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is a network of more than one million pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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