Imagine finding out that your Missouri tax dollars are funding a campaign to harass women seeking legal medical care in other states. Are you okay with that?
Missouri taxpayers are unknowingly funding organizations like Coalition Life, which have set up offices across the river in Illinois to intimidate women as they approach a Planned Parenthood facility. Even more concerning, Coalition Life deploys paid workers outside clinics in the Chicago area and in Kansas, with plans to expand into additional states where abortion is still legal. This isn’t just about ideology—it’s about misusing your tax dollars.
Currently, Missouri allocates $8.6 million directly to pregnancy resource centers (PRCs), of which Coalition Life is just one of nearly 80 such organizations across the state. This includes the MyLife Medical and Resource Center in the 97th District, where I campaign for the State House.
But that’s not all. In 2019, the Missouri legislature passed House Bill 126, the “Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act.” This bill created a 70% tax credit scheme, which, over the past year, has diverted over $11.2 million from the state’s general fund to these Pregnancy Resource Centers, according to a recent article in Pro Publica. In all, nearly $20 million has been funneled into these PRCs, making Missouri the nation’s leader in allocated tax dollars per capita for these controversial organizations.
When House Bill 126 was passed, it was presented to lawmakers as a compassionate measure to support mothers carrying pregnancies to term. They were told the bill would provide essential counseling and material aid to help pregnant women bring children into the world. It was also supposed to dissuade women from seeking an abortion. However, the reality has strayed far from this original intention. These organizations are now crossing state lines, actively interfering with women who have already made the deeply personal decision to seek an abortion.
This raises a critical question: Should Missouri taxpayers be forced to finance an agenda that not only intrudes on personal medical decisions but also stretches beyond state lines? The millions being funneled into these organizations could be better spent addressing Missouri’s notoriously high maternal mortality rate or funding programs that benefit all residents rather than supporting a narrow and often aggressive mission that many taxpayers do not agree with.
Missourians deserve transparency and accountability for how their tax dollars are being spent. It’s time to re-evaluate this entire situation. With a ballot initiative to legalize abortion in the Missouri Constitution up for a vote this November and the potential to end the Republican supermajority in our legislature, we have an opportunity to reconsider how tax credits are affecting Missouri taxpayers. We can pass laws that better align with the will of the people, ensuring that your hard-earned money is spent in a way that truly benefits our state.
For a YouTube video that accompanies this blog, click here.
Comments