Kansas Lawmakers Push Funding for Crisis Pregnancy Centers
This week, Kansas lawmakers on the Committee for State and Federal Affairs debated the merits of HB 2809, a bill which would direct $5.8 million in taxpayer funds to crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). Unlike real reproductive health clinics, CPCs do not provide access to abortions or quality care; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that patients avoid these facilities, pointing out that they are “unregulated and often nonmedical.” The CPC funding bill is part of a broader strategy for anti-abortion groups in Kansas, which faced a resounding defeat when voters declined to remove abortion protections from the state’s constitution. Instead of directly attacking reproductive rights, Republican lawmakers are advancing legislation that would make it more difficult or expensive for women to access abortions – including a bill that would force doctors to question women about their choice to terminate a pregnancy. Ultimately, women’s answers would be reported to the state, along with a host of demographic information which is already collected. 
 
In 2020, CfA urged Pennsylvania officials to pull state funding from an organization called Real Alternatives, which channeled money to CPCs that were forbidden to even discuss contraception with patients. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) eventually terminated the contract with Real Alternatives in 2023, cutting it off from taxpayer dollars. The Kansas CPC funding bill would divert money from the state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, meaning that other initiatives could face cuts.