Anti-abortion groups see a mission in helping women in crisis pregnancies
Those who have worked for decades to end abortions in Wisconsin say while they are elated with the reversal of Roe v. Wade, they are looking ahead to find other ways to help pregnant women in need.
Wisconsin Right to Life says it and similar advocacy groups that have worked to end abortion are lobbying state lawmakers with the aim of boosting funding for alternatives to abortion for women in crisis, including expanded medical support, counseling, child care, and emergency housing.
There are nearly 100 nonprofit, antiabortion, pregnancy support centers in Wisconsin that offer other kinds of help to women in need.
“Our goal on a legislative level is to add more support to these centers so they can expand and offer more services,” said Gracie Skogman, legislative director for Wisconsin to Right Life.
Skogman said her group has begun to work with some lawmakers on the issue and expects some proposed initiatives to be announced in the coming days.
“It’s not something we will get done overnight but we want to start building out support for these programs and increase it as time goes on.”
Texas has established a similar program that allocates tax dollars to nonprofit, anti-abortion pregnancy crisis centers throughout that state. The program began about a decade ago and has so far directed more than $100 million to it.
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have proposed awarding state grants to such nonprofits in the past but the measures have not passed.
Since 2017, Wisconsin has awarded more than $200,000 in grants to pregnancy crisis centers through the Choose Life Wisconsin license plate program.
Drivers can contribute $25 tax free on top of their registration fees to Choose Life Wisconsin, Inc., and is distributed to Wisconsin pregnancy resource centers.
Wisconsin Family Action, which has also lobbied to end abortion in the state for decades, also pledged to do more. Increased funding for pregnancy resource centers will be front and center, said Julaine Appling, executive director of the group.
“The work to establish a culture of life in Wisconsin is not done,” Appling said. “We know that there are still women in crisis pregnancies that need help, compassion and hope. While we rejoice in the legal side of this, where abortion on demand is no longer available in all 50 states, we realize we still have much to do here.”
The groups say they are also concerned about their safety and hope protests against the Supreme Court decision remain peaceful.
“We are concerned,” said Appling, whose office was vandalized earlier this year following the leaked Supreme Court abortion opinion. “We are concerned for our personal safety to a certain degree and for the protection of our office building.”