Missourians Could Give All Their Tax Money to Crisis Pregnancy Centers
This commentary is a repost from “Sex on Wednesdays” by Martha Kempner on Substack. Find her other articles on The Queen Zone here.
Missouri Voters vs. Lawmakers on Abortion Rights
Missouri voters want access to abortion. We know that because in November they voted in favor of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion and other reproductive health decisions. Missouri lawmakers disagree. We know that because they passed one of the strictest abortion laws in the country and fought like hell to keep it even after voters said, “no thank you.” But in February, a judge overturned the legislatures attempts to regulate abortion providers out of existence, and abortion procedures started up again.
Missouri has a new Republican governor and both houses of the legislature are dominated by the GOP (24 to 10 in the Senate and 110 to 52 in the House). Not surprisingly, they’re still trying to steamroll the voters on this issue. For one thing, they’re working on a new proposed constitutional amendment that would restrict abortion and ban gender-affirming care for minors (in the hopes that voter’s hatred of all things trans will overpower their desire for abortion rights). For another, they’re propping up crisis pregnancy centers.
The Taxpayer-Funded Expansion of Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Missouri already gives a lot of money to these so-called pregnancy resource centers. Kehoe has proposed $12 million dollars for these groups in the next fiscal year, which represents an almost 50% increase. His office explained that the governor wants to fund abortion alternatives because he “is committed to supporting services that help women choose to carry their unborn child to term.”
But direct funding is only part of the game. Missouri was also the first state to use tax credits to incentivize individuals to give to these far-right charities. Taxpayers who donate to crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) can claim some of the money as a dollar-for-dollar reduction in their tax bill. This isn’t a deduction. It doesn’t just lower your taxable income. Essentially, it lets you make a donation instead of paying some of your taxes.
For many years, taxpayers could claim a 50% tax credit for donations, meaning for every $1,000 dollars they donated, their state tax bill dropped by $500. Beginning in 2021, the dollar-for-dollar tax credit went up to 70%, meaning for every $1,000 they donate, their state tax bill dropped by $700. A new bill proposes raising that again to 100% and caps the donations at $50,000.
That would mean that all but the wealthiest Missourians could to choose to donate rather than pay any state income taxes. It allows residents to say “the hell with roads, fire departments, libraries, and schools, the only thing I want to pay for is talking women out of abortions.” Anyone who can do math can see how this might become a problem for a state that needs roads, fire departments, libraries, and schools.
When the increase to 70% was proposed a few years ago, nonpartisan legislative oversight staff calculated that it would raise tax credits (also known as the money not given to the state) from $3.5 million to $4.9 million. What they didn’t count on was a rise in donations. Last year, the state lost $11.8 million dollars of potential revenue to this tax credit. It’s unclear how the new bill will impact taxes and whether it will encourage more people to donate or the same number of people to donate more.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Christopher Warwick (R-Bolivar) who likes the idea of people being able to support the important work of CPCs without the state meddling by, you know, “trying to verify what programs work.” He also doesn’t like the idea of making those charities report back on how they spent the money because bureaucracy is bad. Warwick’s bill would also include tax credit for diaper banks and maternity homes. (Anyone else flashing to 1950s Ireland.)
Crisis Pregnancy Centers: Deception and Political Agenda
CPCs first crossed my radar in the late 1990s and early aughts when many of them got federal abstinence-only-until-marriage and used it to lie to kids about the dangers of premarital sex. It tracks because these organizations were founded on lying.
According to a 2018 study, most CPCs are affiliated with evangelical Christian networks and national antiabortion organizations but few of them tell potential customers about this. Instead, they position themselves as unbiased, comprehensive health centers; advertise free pregnancy services; say they offer options counseling; and often open near legitimate abortion providers. In the old days, they advertised in the phonebook under “abortion services.” Today, they’re really good at using search engine optimization and other interweb tactics to attract women looking for real abortion providers.
Once they get women through the door, “counselors” spew misinformation about abortion like the widely debunked link between it and breast cancer, mental health issues, or fertility problems. They also offer unnecessary ultrasounds designed to manipulate women. One study of CPCs in Ohio found that some discouraged early abortions by telling women to wait because they’d likely have a miscarriage anyhow. Counselors do not offer referrals to actual abortion providers should a woman not be persuaded by these falsehoods.
Democrats in the Missouri legislature oppose giving these centers so much money that would otherwise go to the state. Rep. Steve Butz (D-St. Louis) describes himself as pro-life and has actually given to crisis pregnancy centers (and received a 70% tax credit). Still, he opposes the new bill. In a hearing he argued that donors who receive full tax credit aren’t really giving their own charitable donation, they’re giving away the state’s money.
The bill advanced to the next step in the House but has not yet moved forward in the Senate.
Can you imagine the outrage if any politician—in any state—suggested that taxpayers could choose to give to Planned Parenthood rather than pay state income tax?
