Oppose bait-and-switch tactic by pro-abortion Governor
By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director, Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation
Thousands of people from across Pennsylvania will be gathering in Harrisburg Monday, October 16th, to march in solidarity with pregnant women and their children.
The Pennsylvania March for Life comes as new threats to innocent human life have emerged. PA Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro, who has a pro-abortion stand, has threatened to end the Commonwealth’s contract with Real Alternatives, which has ably run the Pregnancy and Parenting Support Services program for decades.
The Governor is trying to hijack funding for the program and funnel it to organizations that could promote or refer for abortion. This bait-and-switch is unconscionable.
Pro-life legislators approved the Commonwealth budget, thinking that the Real Alternatives funding was secure—in fact, they OK’d a two-million-dollar increase for the line item. Once the budget had been enacted, a news release went out announcing that the Real Alternatives contract would not be renewed.
This is just the latest pro-abortion ploy from the Shapiro Administration. Previously, the Governor set up an abortion telephone hotline, following the creation of a website steering women to abortion operations.
The legality of all these maneuvers is highly suspect, given the fact that the expressed policy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is to support childbirth over abortion.
Next week’s marchers will be meeting with their Representatives and Senators to urge them to do what they can to safeguard Real Alternatives funding. The grassroots lobbying effort follows email, phone, and media campaigns on behalf of the PA pregnancy support program, which has become a model for the rest of the nation.
Marchers do not want to simply send a message. They want to make a difference—a difference which will help to empower pregnant women to make life-affirming decisions for themselves and their families.
If you cannot make it to the march, you can contact your PA legislators online through the website www.paprolife.org . Don’t let this opportunity go by. We need a chorus of voices advocating on behalf of pregnant women and their babies amidst the most significant pro-life challenge in PA this century.