Arkansas lawmakers OK $1M for pregnancy resource centers

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas lawmakers have voted to set aside $1 million in state funds for private pregnancy resource centers that discourage pregnant women from getting an abortion.

The majority-Republican House on Thursday approved legislation creating a grant program for the centers, which provide services to women with unintended pregnancies but do not perform abortions or refer to abortion providers.

The Senate approved the measure a day earlier and it now heads to GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

The proposal advanced despite opposition from some Republicans who say some of the centers have said they don’t want the funding.