February 28, 2022
BROOKFIELD, WI – Pro-Life Wisconsin has partnered with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), Wisconsin Family Action, and Wisconsin Right to Life to demand an explanation from the Evers Administration regarding the allocation of nearly $2.4 million to Planned Parenthood affiliates throughout Wisconsin. In 2020 and 2021, $4.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds were granted to the state of Wisconsin. Since then, nearly half of these funds were allocated to the state’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI), and its local affiliates.
In a letter and subsequent press release, attorneys at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) demanded “to know the legal authority for a series of grant programs” including the “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Nonprofit Grant Program” and the “Equitable Recovery Grant Program” through which PPWI received $1.4 million and $1 million respectively. Both suggest a “failure to follow state law on rulemaking.”
WILL continued, “Criteria established by the Wisconsin Department of Administration for applicants to the Nonprofit Grant Program bar entities that ‘have received funding from another CARES Act program.’ Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin received CARES Act funds from the Paycheck Protection Program – violating the terms of the Wisconsin DOA grant.”
WILL Deputy Counsel, Lucas Vebber, said, “We want to know exactly what legal authority Governor Evers thinks he has to create grant programs and ignore the rulemaking process. Additionally, we want to know why he thinks he can ignore clear and explicit state law prohibitions on funding entities, like Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, that provide abortions and related services.”
Pro-Life Wisconsin Legislative Director, Matt Sande echoed this sentiment, saying, “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen consistent and willful neglect of the law by the Evers Administration, and here is yet another glaring example. We absolutely need to know how Governor Evers justifies flouting Wisconsin’s abortion funding prohibition statute 20.9275. We thank the attorneys at WILL for raising these critical questions on our behalf.”
CONTACT:
Anna DeMeuse, Communications Director
C: 920.309.1728
E: Anna.D@ProLifeWI.org
Matt Sande, Legislative Director
C: 262.352.0890
E: Matt.S@ProLifeWI.org
