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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Tennessee’s General Assembly has diverted $3 million that was earmarked for a maternal health pilot program to instead be spent with crisis pregnancy centers.
With Tennessee ranking as the third highest in maternal mortality, lawmakers are seeking ways to provide improved healthcare for pregnant women across the state.
According to Representative Patsy Hazlewood (R-Signal Mountain-District 27), legislators opted to give the money to several crisis pregnancy centers instead of using it to fund a pilot program that had not been tested.
“We are familiar with what they do, we are comfortable with how they do it, and it did not seem the year to make a change in that direction,” Hazlewood said.
Specifics of the pilot program have not been released from Governor Lee, but previously introduced legislation points to the possibility of a TennCare program that would set up remote monitoring of women with at-risk pregnancies.
Democrats spoke against the move, saying that the money was now being used for “programs that have shown no data that they actually work.”
$20 million was given to crisis pregnancy centers in last year’s budget, resulting in the Tennessee Strong Families program. That program provides resources such as counseling, adoption information, and job and housing assistance.
Other crisis pregnancy centers received funds to provide ultrasounds and maternity and infant supplies.
Crisis pregnancy centers are not under the watch of the Tennessee Department of Health. Most of them are faith-based entities that help at-risk mothers to become better prepared to parent their babies.
Governor Lee’s office says they are “pleased that improving access to maternal healthcare and boosting critical resources for Tennessee mothers, children, and families is being prioritized.”
