Missouri lawmakers are considering legislation that would expand tax credits for donations to pregnancy resource centers, organizations closely associated with the anti-abortion movement that have become increasingly influential in Missouri since the fall of Roe v. Wade.
Supporters say the proposal would strengthen support systems for pregnant women and families. Opponents contend it would expand public support for organizations critics say often discourage abortion while diverting resources from broader anti-poverty and health care programs.
The Missouri Senate Committee on Economic Development is reviewing legislation sponsored by Sen. Curtis Trent, a Republican from Springfield, that would increase certain tax credits from 70% to 100% for donations to qualifying facilities located in or serving rural areas. The bill also would increase the maximum annual credit available to individual taxpayers from $50,000 to $100,000, with future adjustments tied to inflation.
According to Generate Health St. Louis and other maternal-health advocates, Black families in St. Louis continue to experience disproportionately high rates of poverty, maternal mortality and infant health complications, while access to prenatal care, housing stability and economic support remains uneven across the region. Budget analysts and reproductive-rights advocates say the expanding tax credits and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding could divert money from broader anti-poverty programs, health care and public education.
Pregnancy resource centers are tax-exempt organizations that provide services including pregnancy tests, counseling, parenting support and material assistance. Missouri’s Department of Social Services oversees qualification requirements for participating centers. State rules require that participating facilities not perform or refer patients for abortions.
A 2022 National Library of Medicine report described crisis pregnancy centers as nonprofit organizations that “present themselves as healthcare clinics while providing counseling explicitly intended to discourage and limit access to abortion.”
The centers have seen increased funding and political support since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Missouri has nearly 100 qualified pregnancy resource centers, according to state records, including organizations in St. Louis, Bridgeton, Fenton, St. Charles and other communities across the state.
Critics, including abortion-rights organizations and some researchers, argue some centers lack physicians or licensed medical staff. A 2024 report by The Independent said many centers advertise ultrasounds and pregnancy testing while critics accuse some facilities of providing medically unproven claims about reproductive health care.
Supporters of the tax-credit expansion say the centers provide free assistance that many families rely on.
“I will never stop fighting for the life of ALL unborn children in Missouri, and I will continue working to support women in choosing life,” Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican from Branson, said last year while supporting related anti-abortion legislation.
Under current Missouri law, taxpayers who donate to qualified pregnancy resource centers can receive a 70% state tax credit. The proposal would raise that to 100% for qualifying rural-related donations. The credits would allow eligible donors to offset state taxes dollar-for-dollar for qualifying contributions up to the annual cap. Some abortion-rights advocates contend the structure functions more like a state subsidy than a traditional charitable deduction.
The proposal also has intensified scrutiny of how Missouri funds pregnancy resource centers. KCUR reported in March that Missouri’s allocation of TANF funding for pregnancy centers increased from $4.3 million in 2022 to $10.3 million in fiscal year 2026, making Missouri among the states most aggressively directing TANF funding toward pregnancy resource centers.
The increase followed a broader national debate over whether TANF funds should support pregnancy resource centers. Congressional Republicans, including Missouri U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, opposed a Biden administration proposal that would have required states to more closely justify using TANF funds for pregnancy resource centers. The administration later withdrew the proposal.
“It does make me nervous,” Amy Blouin, president and CEO of the Missouri Budget Project, told ProPublica in 2022 while discussing the growth of the tax-credit program.
The Alliance, a women’s rights advocacy organization, argued that directing TANF funding toward pregnancy centers can reduce resources available for broader anti-poverty programs serving low-income families.
Some reproductive-rights advocates also have criticized anti-abortion organizations for using racially targeted messaging in Black communities, arguing that the strategy overlaps with outreach efforts used by some pregnancy resource centers. A 2021 report from The Alliance cited a 2011 anti-abortion billboard campaign in cities including New York and Dallas that featured a young Black girl alongside the message: “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.”
“These visuals are designed to provoke a strong emotional response by connecting contemporary reproductive choices to the historical trauma of Black disenfranchisement and population loss,” The Alliance wrote in its report.
Supporters of pregnancy resource centers reject criticism that the organizations are deceptive.
Abortion Action Missouri criticized the legislation in a statement, calling it “a sneaky mechanism to fund inherently political, anti-abortion organizations with zero transparency.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.