North Carolina's state budget, passed in July, directs more than $10.7 million in public money to crisis pregnancy centers, and the state health department says it has no authority over what those centers do or achieve. The funding was detailed in a North Carolina Health News investigation published Sept. 28. A bill that would have required funded centers to report on staffing, clients, and services did not advance.
A spokesperson for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) told the outlet that "the department has no regulatory oversight or authority over the activities or outcomes of the centers." The department also said it neither recommended nor requested the funding. As a result, millions of dollars flow to the centers each year without a state health agency assigned to measure the results.
A Decade of Growth in State Funding
Crisis pregnancy centers are nonprofit organizations, most of them Christian-led, that offer free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, parenting classes, and material support. They encourage women to continue their pregnancies through parenting or adoption, and they do not perform abortions or refer patients for them. About 100 operate in North Carolina.
State support has grown sharply. The budget allocated $300,000 to the centers in fiscal year 2016. That figure reached a high of more than $12 million in fiscal 2024 before the current allocation of more than $10.7 million. Axios reported a similar rise over the past decade in 2025.
Most of the money moves through one channel. The Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, which operates as LifeLink Carolina, received $6 million in recurring funding, which it distributes as grants to centers across the state. Human Coalition, a Texas-based organization, was allocated nearly $3.3 million to run its Continuum of Care Program in North Carolina, and nearly 2.5millionwenttowardpersonnel,accordingtoNorthCarolinaHealthNews.Smalleramountswentdirectlytoindividualcenters,includingM.Y.LifeCenterinBurnsville(200,000) and Wayne Pregnancy Center in Goldsboro ($160,000).
North Carolina is part of a national pattern. A States Newsroom investigation found that 21 states allocated $491 million to these centers between fiscal years 2022 and 2025. North Carolina has the seventh-highest number of crisis pregnancy centers in the country, out of an estimated 2,559 nationwide as of March 31, according to data collected by University of Georgia researchers.
Reporting Rules and the Bill That Stalled
Current reporting requirements are limited. The fellowship must submit a report giving an overview of its funding allocations by July 1 of each odd-numbered year. That report shows wide variation in the number of new clients centers serve. Uwharrie Women's Center reported nine new clients in 2024, while a handful of centers, such as Queen City Pregnancy Resource Center in Charlotte, reported more than 1,000 new clients a year.
In April, Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Wake County Democrat, filed House Bill 1120, the Financial Effectiveness and Transparency Act. It would have required centers receiving state money to disclose their budgets, staff and volunteer counts, whether they employ licensed health care professionals, the number of clients served, and the services and material support they provide, NC Newsline reported. Centers that did not provide the information could not receive state funds. The bill would also have shifted $6.75 million from the fellowship to state maternal and infant health programs, such as Healthy Beginnings, Safe Sleep NC, and the Nurse-Family Partnership.
The bill was referred to a House committee and did not advance. Von Haefen said she is not trying to close the centers. "But, for me, I don't feel like our taxpayer money should be going to support them when they're not proving that they're using it in a way that's giving us any results," she told North Carolina Health News.
Supporters and Critics Make Their Case
Legislative leaders defend the spending as direct help for women facing difficult circumstances. Demi Dowdy, a spokesperson for House Speaker Destin Hall, said the centers provide "critical support to North Carolina women in crisis" and noted that centers receiving state funding served more than 21,000 new clients in 2024. Human Coalition reported using $3 million in state funding to serve 3,963 clients from July 2023 through June 2025. As of June 30, 2025, the fellowship's Circle of Care Program had assisted 1,795 women across the state.
Center leaders describe their role as practical support rather than medical care. "Pregnancy centers help fill the gap between medical care and the practical day-to-day support many women and families need," said Beverly Weeks, CEO of Wayne Pregnancy Center, which reported serving more than 1,000 clients in 2025. "We are not trying to replace hospitals, physicians, or public health programs; we complement them."
Physicians who oppose the funding focus on medical standards. "They are not licensed clinics. They don't have the same types of standards and supervision that people would get had they gone to a legitimate medical clinic," said Dr. Jonas Swartz, an OB-GYN at Duke who provides abortions. Dr. Amy Bryant, an OB-GYN in the Triangle who also provides abortions, called the spending "a real misguided use of state funds and taxpayer dollars" and said pregnant people should be supported "in much less ideologically driven and more comprehensive ways."
Both sides describe the centers' work very differently, and the state does not collect outcome data that could settle the question. LifeLink Carolina did not respond to North Carolina Health News' interview requests.
What Pregnant Residents and Taxpayers Can Do
People visiting a pregnancy center can ask whether a licensed nurse, physician, or sonographer will perform any ultrasound and whether the results will be shared with their own doctor. A center ultrasound does not replace prenatal care, which includes blood tests, screenings, and regular checkups throughout pregnancy.
Pregnant residents who lack insurance may qualify for NC Medicaid, which covers pregnancy care and extends coverage for 12 months after birth. Local health departments can help with enrollment and with referrals to programs such as WIC. Heavy bleeding, severe abdominal pain, fever, or fainting during pregnancy calls for urgent care at an emergency room or hospital labor unit.
Taxpayers who want more information can ask their state legislators how grant recipients are chosen and whether outcome reporting could be added to future budgets. The fellowship's next required report is due July 1, 2027.
Key Questions Answered
How much is North Carolina spending on crisis pregnancy centers?
The budget passed in July directs more than $10.7 million to the centers, down from a high of more than $12 million in fiscal 2024 and up from $300,000 in fiscal 2016.
Who oversees the centers?
NCDHHS says it has no regulatory oversight or authority over the centers' activities or outcomes, and it did not recommend or request the funding.
What happened to the reporting bill?
House Bill 1120 would have required funded centers to disclose budgets, staffing, clients, and services, but it was referred to committee and did not advance.
What do supporters say?
House leaders say state-funded centers served more than 21,000 new clients in 2024, and center leaders say they provide practical support that complements medical care.
What do critics say?
Some OB-GYNs say the centers are not licensed medical clinics and that the money would be better spent on evidence-based maternal health programs.
Where can pregnant residents get prenatal care?
A doctor, clinic, or local health department can help, and many uninsured pregnant residents qualify for NC Medicaid.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
