Along with passing a series of radical pro-abortion bills, the Democrat-controlled Minnesota Legislature has decided to defund programs that provide free aid to pregnant and parenting families in need.
And the reason that at least one Democrat gave is some women may be persuaded not to abort their unborn babies.
“This program, Positive Alternatives to Abortion, I mean it’s right in the name. This was a program that was meant to turn women away from having abortions,” said Rep. Tina Liebling, D-Rochester, according to ABC News 6.
In other words, state Democrat leaders think killing unborn babies in abortions is a good thing – even though research shows most women seeking abortions do not actually want them; they want better support instead.
Now, women like Shoshana Sindt, a pregnant mother of three, may struggle even more to put food on the table.
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According to the report:
… every month, Sindt depends on Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota.
Through the Catholic Charities Pregnancy, Parenting, and Adoption program (PPA), Sindt attends parenting classes, picks up free diapers, car seats, rental assistance and anything else she may need but can’t quite afford.
“It just kind of saved us for last minute groceries or anything the kids needed, it covered it,” Sindt said.
Last year, Catholic Charities in Minnesota helped 450 families through the Positive Alternatives to Abortion program, providing rental and utility assistance, baby supplies and more to families in need, the report states.
The charity received $250,000 through the program and was supposed to receive that amount again for the next two years, but Democrats’ cuts mean the program may have to scale back or dissolve.
Pregnancy resource centers and other non-profits also received funding through the program to provide assistance with housing, education and employment, child care, medical care, adoption services and parenting education and support.
According to Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), the program has helped tens of thousands of women and children since it began in 2005.
“Babies and women are both harmed by this sweeping extremism,” MCCL co-executive director Cathy Blaeser responded after Democrats’ action. “The legislature is funding the abortion industry while defunding alternatives to abortion. … This is not what Minnesotans want. This is not the kind of place Minnesota desires to be.”
Blaeser’s organization pointed to statistics that show most women seek abortions because they lack financial or social/emotional support. The Positive Alternatives to Abortion program was created “to address these problems—so that no one feels like abortion is the only choice.”
A new peer-reviewed study found that two-thirds of women seeking abortions would have chosen life if they had better support for themselves and their babies. Researchers also found that one in four women said their abortions were “unwanted or coerced.” Other research has found that nearly all women who wanted abortions but could not get them later were glad they had their babies.
