Florida will put funding for pro-life centers into law if the governor signs this bill
TALLAHASSEE -- A bill that would change state law to cement funding for pregnancy support centers, which discourage abortion and provide some medical services for unplanned pregnancies, will head to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk after it was passed by the Senate Thursday.
The bill makes more permanent a contract the Department of Health has with the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, which runs more than 100 pregnancy centers through a collection of largely faith-based groups. It requires that at least 90 percent of the funding for the centers, which are known in part for their pro-life billboards on state highways, be used on pregnancy support and wellness. It also requires that none of those public subsidies be used to reimburse costs for religious material, though it would allow funds to be used for marketing.
The bill passed 21-12 on a party-line vote.
The program under which the centers are run was created under Gov. Jeb Bush in 2005 and has received public funding — up to $4 million last year — since 2006. Sponsor Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, said putting the contract in a state statute instead of an annual budget provision would ensure the program’s longevity. The amount of the contract would still be allocated annually by the legislature.
Democrats questioned how strongly the state government should support the pregnancy centers, citing concerns about oversight and the accuracy of information provided given their anti-abortion stance. They proposed a series of unsuccessful amendments on the floor, ranging from adding a competitive bidding process for the contract to language that would have required services be backed by medical research. Those amendments, Bean said, were already covered by provisions in the bill.
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