Last month, the Kansas State Legislature passed a four-year funding package that budgets official appropriations towards state agencies and programs. The legislature identified several avenues to support families in the state, including a new website portal to house already available pregnancy resources — a Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) top policy priority to support young mothers. Though the Governor vetoed this provision, the legislature overrode the veto with an over two-thirds majority vote.
This past session, the Kansas legislature secured major wins for families in the state. They passed bills to codify the definition of “sex” in state law, they prohibited the use of fraudulent sex identification on government documents, they combatted DEI curriculum in schools, and they bolstered parental rights in education. They continued their support for life by passing the Pregnancy Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression Act. This bill guarantees pregnancy resource centers’ (PRCs) ability to provide life-affirming care and provides legal protection against government interference.
The passage of the state funding continued to build on these gains. It continued explicit prohibitions on public funds towards programs that perform, assist, or refer abortions. Instead, it appropriated $3 million to create a Pregnancy Compassion Awareness Program. This program is created to support the work of PRCs, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other supportive resources. The purpose of the program is “to help pregnant women who are at risk of having abortions to be made aware of the pregnancy compassion awareness program service.”
Notably, it specifically mandates the creation of a statewide pregnancy resource website. This follows several other states that have modeled this kind of resource:
- Mississippi’s MAMA.ms.gov
- South Dakota’s Life.sd.gov
- North Dakota’s Life.nd.gov
- Oklahoma’s Oklahoma.gov/life
This past weekend, the federal government also launched MOMS.Gov to celebrate Mother’s Day!
While the private sector has created similar websites, they typically find themselves pitted against big-tech bias and the budgets of large abortion businesses that manipulate search engine results. Hosting the website on a government top-level domain not only combats bias but also enhances legitimacy and end-user trust.
Unfortunately, advertising and public awareness can be the PRC’s toughest battles. Planned Parenthoods are often situated near college campuses and, with their nearly billion-dollar aid from taxpayers, can easily cover expensive advertising. Not to mention their activists lining every corner.
But PRC’s do not charge for their services and rarely accept taxpayer funds, due to strings and reporting requirements often attached. A state-run resource is an excellent, creative, and, most importantly, no-strings-attached way to support the life-affirming services of PRCs.
But the aid doesn’t stop there. These websites often connect women to adoption information, maternity homes, rehabilitation programs, financial information, and more.
In 2019, 85% of women who had abortions were unmarried. For some, the connection to these resources could be a matter of life or death. That’s why CWALAC is proud to have played an instrumental role in creating many of these state-level and federal websites.
Join us in celebrating this major win for women and life coming soon to the state of Kansas and beyond!
