New Jersey to Provide Abortion Service Grants

• Author: William Asher
• Posted: 2023-10-31

Last year, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade on a federal level, half of the entire country melted down in a panic that still hasn't completely calmed down. Almost every one of the major corporate news outlets were pushing the idea that abortion was now banned across the entire country, and Democratic politicians (and even some anti-Trump Republicans) were telling young women that they were being oppressed and would no longer be allowed to receive abortions. Wherever you might stand on the issue, the fact is that Roe V. Wade being overturned did not ban abortion. It simply put the decision back into the hands of individual states; and of 50 states in America, not a single one has outright banned abortion. At worst, some have imposed stricter guidelines, like Texas and Arkansas, but none have banned the practice. That has not stopped some states from flying off the handle completely, however. New Jersey, for instance, is offering over $15 million in grants and loans in order to bolster security among abortion clinics in the state.

The idea, according to New Jersey, is that it's dangerous for women to get abortions now. Despite the fact that the only attacks in the previous two years have been against pro-life centers, and not a single attack has been carried out on an abortion clinic, New Jersey is still pushing the idea on its citizens that women are in immediate danger, and so these clinics need improved security in order to keep women safe. In fact, New Jersey is the type of state that goes beyond that sort of language. They're out to keep "birthing people" safe, meaning that they believe men can also have abortions. Again, wherever you may stand on that issue, it's okay to ground yourself in reality. In this instance, the reality is that New Jersey is a reliably blue state, and no one is attacking abortion clinics in New Jersey.

According to Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, the state needs its abortion clinics to have $15 million in grants and interest-free loans due to the fact that the Supreme Court banned abortion. Yes, this is precisely what the Governor said. He said that the Supreme Court's "decision to strip away" abortion rights makes it dangerous for women to get an abortion. Critics of this new spending initiative have pointed out that New Jersey is the exact reason SCOTUS ruled how it ruled, of course, suggesting that states like New Jersey are in no danger whatsoever of losing abortion, and that was SCOTUS's entire point. States like New Jersey can implement abortion how they want; it's just that the federal government cannot mandate what New Jersey can and cannot do. Though this is not stopping the hysteria.

New Jersey's poverty rate has increased more than 47 other states since 2020, and instead of giving grants to people to help them buy groceries or pay their heating bills, the state seems to want to place armed security guards in abortion clinics. Of course, most people see this as a political stunt. Even people who agree that abortion clinics need more funding still realize that this is New Jersey, and people have been receiving abortions there unimpeded for generations. It all seems to be some political ploy by Murphy, who is already campaigning for re-election in the state.
 

Political Grants Certainly Target a Specific Ideology

You might feel like this is a great thing; you might believe that abortion clinics in New Jersey are deserving of grants. Though the fact of the matter is that states aren't really handing out grants to citizens anymore. After the COVID funds all vanished, states have pretty much stopped trying to help their citizens. Many are pointing out that the women who get pregnant could make better use of this money than abortion clinics that will spend tens of thousands of dollars and may end up hiring a single security guard as some pointless gesture. Many are also pointing out that this all appears to be more corruption, with the government handing out money to its allies, ignoring the citizens as usual, and shielding themselves from criticism by playing into the abortion hysteria in America.

Whatever is happening, it's clear that New Jersey has decided that its poverty rates can be placed on the back burner while they throw money at abortion clinics. This is basically how all states are handling grants recently. They throw money at political causes and ignore the actual people.