HYDE-SMITH CITES GULFPORT PREGNANCY CENTER TO ADVOCATE FEDERAL LEGISLATION
Senator Delivers Floor Speech Highlighting March for Life & Pregnancy Center Bills She Introduced
VIDEO CLIP: Senator Hyde-Smith Extols Constituent, Women’s Resource Center in Gulfport.
VIDEO CLIP: Senator Hyde-Smith Advocates Building on Pro-Life History as a Pro-Woman Movement.
VIDEO: Senator Hyde-Smith’s Entire Floor Speech on Pregnancy Center Legislation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today cited a Mississippi constituent who benefited from services provided by the Women’s Resource Center in Gulfport as an example of how the pro-life movement can build on its record of being pro-women.
Hyde-Smith, chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, used a floor speech to applaud the 2024 March for Life theme, “With Every Woman, For Every Child,” to promote legislation she introduced last week to support, expand, and protect pregnancy centers. Her speech began with the narrative of Hannah, who benefited from the Gulfport center.
“When faced with an unplanned pregnancy, Hannah chose life for her baby with the help of a pregnancy center. Despite coming from a long line of single mothers and from a family background plagued with alcoholism, drugs, and dysfunction, Hannah was able to overcome her circumstances and create a better life for herself and her daughter,” Hyde-Smith said. “Hannah’s story is part of the untold story of the pro-life movement that goes on at many other pregnancy centers in Mississippi, and across the nation.”
Affirming that “the pro-life movement is also a pro-woman movement with a long history of empowering women during pregnancy and after,” Hyde-Smith said Congress can help build on that record by enacting legislation that promotes pregnancy centers.
“I believe Congress must build on that history by promoting policies that support pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and strong families, so that more pregnant women will have the support they need as they embark on a beautiful and sacred chapter of their lives,” Hyde-Smith said. “Every human life is a priceless gift, but the costs and challenges for new parents are very real. We need to start putting our money where our mouth is.”
To that end, Hyde-Smith introduced the Pregnancy Center Support Act (S.3610), which would implement a 50 percent tax credit to incentivize voluntary contributions to pregnancy centers. Mississippi is among the states that have enacted laws that provide tax credits for private donations to pregnancy centers.
To combat ongoing hostile Biden administration policies toward these centers, Hyde-Smith also introduced the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act (S.3611),which would nullify a proposed rule that would deny Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program funding to pregnancy centers.
“The Democrats’ attacks on pregnancy centers are disgraceful, and we must do more to support their lifesaving work,” Hyde-Smith said. “The pro-life movement believes that every life counts—every mother, every father, and every child—and that’s why we strive for an end to abortion. We must also support families and come alongside pregnant women in need.”
Read Hyde-Smith’s full speech, as prepared for delivery, here.
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