CHARLESTON, West Virginia (LifeSiteNews) — West Virginia has awarded a pro-life group management of a $1 million grant program to support families with infant children and pregnant women through pregnancy resource centers.
On November 30, the state’s Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) announced that its Bureau for Public Health’s Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health “has awarded a grant through a selection process to the West Virginia Pregnancy Center Coalition to manage the West Virginia Mothers and Babies Support Program.”
Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who signed off on the program earlier this year, said he was “proud” of the grant being awarded to the pro-life organization.
“This program will provide much-needed support to pregnant women and families with infants, and I am confident that the Pregnancy Center Coalition will do an excellent job of administering it,” he said per a DHHR press release.
Pregnancy care centers, maternity homes, pro-life social service groups, and adoption agencies are all eligible for grants under the program.
The DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health State Health Officer, Dr. Matthew Christiansen, also applauded the move, expressing support for “a program that will provide medical care, parenting and life-skills education, financial assistance, baby supplies and other material assistance.” He further emphasized the program as “vital” in the ongoing improvement efforts “to promote the health of children and families in West Virginia.”
Executive director of the Pregnancy Center Coalition, Jenny Entsminger, “commend[ed]” the governor and state lawmakers “who recognized the need” for state support of expectant mothers and families and the importance of providing “practical help” to care for the unborn, infants and their families.
The West Virginia Mothers and Babies Support Program was approved by Gov. Justice in April 2023. House Bill 2002 not only funds pro-life pregnancy resource centers to supply West Virginians with life-affirming resources but also increases the state adoption tax credit from $4,000 to $5,000. Additionally, the program expands the state’s efforts to connect new parents with professionals, such as social workers or nurses, to assist with the transition to parenthood.
At the time of signing HB 2002, Justice wrote on social media that he “stand[s] for life.” West Virginia law bans abortion throughout pregnancy with limited exceptions for rape, incest, “lethal anomaly,” and “medical emergencies” that reputedly seriously threaten the health or life of the mother, which does not include mental or emotional conditions. Pro-lifers stress that life begins at conception, the unborn are never at fault for the conditions of their conception, and that the deliberate killing of a preborn baby is never medically necessary.
There are no active abortion centers killing the unborn in West Virginia.
READ: MAP: Most abortions are banned in 14 states, more states to follow
The Pregnancy Center Coalition “provides a platform for West Virginia pregnancy help organizations to network, share, pray and support one another with care and respect,” according to the organization’s website.
The pro-life group offers training for pregnancy centers’ boards of directors, communication skills for volunteers, legal consults, and strategic planning for individuals and groups running pregnancy resource centers in West Virginia. More information about the organization’s services can be found here.
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