Four anti-abortion centers picked to receive state funding under MOMS program
Four pregnancy resource centers have been selected to receive state funding under the controversial new state program to provide taxpayer dollars to anti-abortion facilities.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced this week that it will award four grants under the state's "More Options for Maternal Support," or MOMS program, a Gov. Kim Reynolds-backed proposal to offer "pregnancy support services" to Iowans. Those grants will be awarded to:
Alternatives Pregnancy Center, located in Cedar Falls and Waterloo.
Bethany Christian Services of Northwest Iowa, which has multiple locations across Iowa.
Informed Choices of Iowa, based in Iowa City and Burlington.
Lutheran Services of Iowa, also located statewide.
Total funding amounts awarded to each organization will be determined through contract negotiations, which are scheduled to be completed by Feb. 14, according to HHS.
If these organizations sign a contract with the state in March, they should receive state dollars by Feb. 28, according to the state's request for proposals.
HHS Director Kelly Garcia told lawmakers during a House committee hearing Thursday that five centers had applied to the state's request for proposals that the agency had issued this past October, but officials opted to move forward with all but one of the applications.
The GOP-led Iowa Legislature has allocated $2 million to administer the MOMS program and to fund these centers that offer its clients resources "to choose childbirth and to make informed decisions regarding the choice of adoption or parenting with respect to their children."
Also known as crisis pregnancy centers, these anti-abortion facilities encourage women to continue their pregnancies by offering counseling or donated items, like cribs and baby clothes. Some centers also offer ultrasounds, though these centers are not licensed medical clinics.
Iowa has about 55 pregnancy resource centers across the state.
More: Why Iowa's abortion fight relies on pregnancy resource centers: Will women be helped or hurt?
Under the contract with the state, pregnancy resource centers would be required to offer counseling to pregnant women and to offer additional supports, ranging from material goods to assistance in finding employment or housing.
These centers are explicitly banned from using state funds to "provide or refer pregnant women for terminations of pregnancy or terminate a pregnancy unless the pregnant woman’s attending physician confirms the termination of pregnancy is medically necessary to prevent the pregnant woman’s death," according to state rules for MOMS providers.
Garcia said the MOMS program is housed within the division of Family Well-being and Protection, a new department within the agency that was developed when Iowa Health and Human Services was formed last year. Garcia told lawmakers Thursday that division will eventually house "Thrive Iowa," a proposed program introduced by Gov. Kim Reynolds earlier this month that would connect families with private sector networks and churches for assistance.
House lawmakers are also considering a proposed changed to the MOMS program this legislative session. House File 2057 would remove the requirement for Iowa HHS to hire a third-party administrator to oversee and manage the network of pregnancy resource centers that receive state funding.
That proposal comes after state officials failed twice last year to identify an entity qualified to serve as program administrator for the program. The first search only garnered one applicant who failed to meet the state's requirements. The second search yield "no responsive bidders."
The House Health and Human Services subcommittee advanced the bill earlier this week.
Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: State funding could go to four anti-abortion centers next month
