Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, today debated on the House floor in support of the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act (HR 6945), legislation he cosponsored to enable states to provide Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funding for pregnancy care centers.

             Smith, who has long advocated for enhanced federal protections for pregnancy care centers—often the targets of biased harassment, discrimination, and malignment by radical, pro-abortion state governments—delivered the following remarks on the House floor:

             Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Michelle Fischbach, for her leadership and compassion by offering this legislation to protect pregnancy centers from discrimination and ensure they can continue their important work of assisting families in need.

             At a New Jersey pregnancy center dinner, two women—through tears of joy—expressed their deep and abiding gratitude for the incredible love, respect, and care that persuaded them to reverse their decision to abort their babies.

             They spoke of how desperate—even hopeless—they felt.

             They spoke of the pressure they felt to abort.

             Until they met the director of the pregnancy resource center, who reached out to both of them in a gentle and non-judgmental way.

             They chose life—and thanked God, the director, and the pregnancy resource center for helping them avert the loss of their babies’ lives.

             Then, two teenaged girls took to the podium and spoke about their lives—school, sports, friends—and their reverence for the sanctity of all human life.

             Near the end of their remarks, they turned towards the director of the center and thanked her for being there for their moms through those difficult times, and they said that if she wasn’t there for them, “we’d be dead.”

             These clinics are there for both mother and baby, before and after birth.

             Consider the story of Jean Marie Davis, a mother and a survivor of human trafficking, who says her life was saved by a pregnancy care center. She says:        

             “…I was trafficked in 33 states…

“Even though I was losing weight from the drugs, my belly kept growing, and I soon discovered the pregnancy that would ultimately save my life…

“…I literally ran away from the only life I had ever known.

             “Fighting despair, and with only $1.38 to my name, I had very few places to turn.”

             Jean Marie was connected with a woman named Phyllis at a local pregnancy center. She says:

“The pregnancy center provided me with free resources and support to take care of my son. I was also able to realize and pursue dreams I had never imagined, such as earning a college degree…

“Years later, I applied for the executive director position of a pregnancy center in Vermont—Branches Pregnancy Resource Center…

“If it hadn’t been for Phyllis and the pregnancy center, I would be dead. They saved my life. My son saved my life. Now, it’s my turn to defend the very cause that saved me.”  

             Across the United States, more than 2,700 pregnancy resource centers offer mothers and their precious children an oasis of love, compassion, and care.

             According to a recent report, in 2024, pregnancy resource centers provided over $452 million in free medical care, support and education services, and material goods for clients. This includes providing, at no cost to the client, ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, STD/STI tests, prenatal education, parenting classes, packs of diapers, new car seats, baby clothing, cribs, strollers, and bottles of formula. They provided over 6 million packs of free diapers alone, costing $71 million. They saw 1 million new clients, with an overall client satisfaction rate of 98%.

             Recognizing the extraordinary care provided at these centers, some states have chosen to provide them with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding. They recognize that these centers help families in need care for children in their own homes and reduce dependence on government benefits.

             HR 6945, introduced by Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Michelle Fischbach, clarifies that states may direct these TANF dollars to pregnancy centers and the crucial assistance they provide.

             Tragically, President Biden—the Abortion President—weaponized the entire federal bureaucracy to aggressively promote abortion on-demand, including misrepresenting the noble work of pregnancy resource centers. His administration proposed a rule to block pregnancy centers from receiving TANF funds.

             We can’t allow that to happen. This important legislation would ensure that pregnancy centers cannot be excluded or restricted from receiving TANF funding as a result of discrimination from another hostile administration.

             In a pro-abortion culture of denial that dismisses unborn babies and trivializes the harm suffered by women, pregnancy centers affirm the breathtaking miracle of unborn life and the truth that women deserve better than abortion. 

             I am grateful for this opportunity to support their work in defending the weakest and most vulnerable.

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