Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently signed a bill that allocates $2 million in grants to pregnancy help organizations in her state.
The grants are designated for nonprofits that provide support to women facing unplanned pregnancies, including services such as nutritional counseling, prenatal vitamins, emotional support, and referrals to community-based nutritional services. The legislation explicitly prohibits funding for organizations that perform or refer for abortions.
According to a statement from the Arkansas Family Council, grant money can go to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other charitable organizations that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.
“Pro-lifers in Arkansas have worked hard to prohibit abortion. We need to work to make abortion irrelevant and unthinkable as well. Supporting pregnancy resource centers is one way we can do that,” the statement said. “[This legislation] means Arkansas will be able to continue providing real support to women and families. That is something to celebrate!”
Since 2022, the Arkansas Family Council has worked with the state legislature and the decidedly pro-life governor to secure funding for pregnancy resource centers.
During her election campaign, Sanders wrote a letter to pro-life leaders and activists, thanking them for the hard work defending and protecting unborn children and their mothers.
“As the next Governor of Arkansas, I will be an unequivocal defender of life, keeping Arkansas one of the most pro-life states in the nation,” she wrote. “I understand an eternal truth: every child is a precious gift from God. As Americans, we value life, and it is in our very nature to protect it – it’s what makes us who we are. As a mom, I know the love that each of my three children have brought to our family. But my belief is informed by more than faith and experience, it’s informed by science. We know unborn babies can feel pain. They have faces, a heartbeat, and a soul.”
One of the organizations she wrote to, Susan B. Anthony America, saluted the governor in March 2024 when she signed an executive order to protect the health of pregnant and post-partum women and their babies in Arkansas.
The executive order on maternal health directed the Surgeon General, Department of Human Services and Department of Health to develop a statewide committee to improve education, access, coordination and reporting. The task force was directed to enroll pregnant and postpartum women in health coverage options. Initiatives included: launching a pilot program in five counties to expand prenatal care, creating a public awareness campaign, and exploring Medicaid reforms and innovation partnerships. The state also aimed to expand evidence-based hospital treatment protocols, establish a maternal health data system, and increasing access to telehealth, home visits, and doula services.
Caitlin Connors, southern regional director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, was grateful for Governor Sanders’ leadership in serving moms and protecting babies.
“Through this executive order, Arkansas will take swift action to improve the health of more moms by establishing solutions involving the public, private and nonprofit sectors,” Connors said. “This is another example of how pro-life governors across our country are establishing a culture of life by providing more support for mothers.”