The State of Nebraska has pumped money into crisis pregnancy centers after cutting state funding for non-abortion services at Planned Parenthood and similar organizations.
In 2019, then-Gov. Ricketts announced Nebraska’s Planned Parenthoods would no longer receive federal money to help poor Nebraskans access resources like birth control or testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
Soon after that announcement, the state lost control of that funding when the federal government awarded it to a nonprofit, Nebraska Family Planning. That group now distributes the $2 million grant to 33 clinics around the state, including Planned Parenthood. Per federal law, the money can’t provide abortions. But Nebraskans can discuss all pregnancy options with a medical professional, said Mariel Harding, the group’s senior director of programs & initiatives.
“It’s about making sure that people who access services are getting the care that they need and deserve and that they can trust it,” she said.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story referred to Mariel Harding as Nebraska Family Planning’s reproductive and sexual health care clinical educator. She is the group’s senior director of programs & initiatives.
