The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a federal grant package that would award $450,000 to a crisis pregnancy center near Lawrenceville that does not refer patients for abortions.
The County Commission has unanimously voted every year since 2020 to allocate federal Community Development Block Grant funding to Georgia Wellness Group, formerly known as the Pregnancy Resource Center of Gwinnett. The county has awarded the organization more than $700,000 to date, documents show.
Until recently, the facility was affiliated with Obria, a nationwide network of faith-based pregnancy centers that oppose abortion and promote unproven abortion “reversal” procedures.
Georgia Wellness Group, a nonprofit, was an Obria affiliate when the organization applied last year for the current round of grant funding, documents show. But that relationship has ended, organization officials said last week in a press release.
“Georgia Wellness is an independent, locally operated clinic no longer affiliated with The Obria Group on an organizational, legal, or operational level,” the release said. “Any actions or opinions associated with former Obria leadership do not have a bearing on the mission, services, or operations of Georgia Wellness.”
CEO Robin Mauck was not available Monday for further comment, employees said.
The state of California is suing Obria, alleging the network misleads patients.
Obria founder and former CEO Kathleen Eaton Bravo has said Muslims are replacing Christians in Europe because of contraception and abortion. Another ousted former Obria CEO told Elle magazine last year that crisis pregnancy centers are operated by “zealots.”
The Georgia Wellness Group offers “pregnancy options consults” but does not refer patients for abortions or provide them, according to its website.
State Rep. Marvin Lim, a Norcross Democrat, and Amplify Georgia, a collaborative of reproductive rights organizations, are opposing the grant award. Lim cited “the Gwinnett standard,” a county government mantra that boils down to high expectations for services.
“It is not the Gwinnett standard to fund an organization just because they’re doing some good, when they’re also doing significant harm,” Lim told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After the U.S. Supreme Court three years ago overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federal constitutional protections for abortion, Georgia banned the procedure once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, typically about six weeks into a pregnancy and before many know they are pregnant. Since then, the number of Georgians traveling to other states for abortions has spiked.
Georgia Wellness Group also offers low- or no-cost prenatal care, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, gynecological services, maternal mental health care and post-pregnancy support, according to the news release.
This year’s grant would include $400,000 to support the purchase of a house to serve as a maternity home for six pregnant women and their children up to 18 months of age, according to county documents. The remaining funding would go to maternal mental and behavioral health in partnership with Sugar Hill Church and pediatric care.
“I have always supported reproductive rights and access to comprehensive health care,” County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said. “This funding decision is about delivering essential medical services that directly address Georgia’s high maternal mortality rate and help some of our most vulnerable families get the care they need and deserve.”
County spokesperson Joe Sorenson cited a federal regulation stating decisions about federal grant allocations must be made “free of political interference.” Gwinnett could lose federal grant funding and face lawsuits if the county rejects grant applications over political considerations, Sorenson said.
“The potential consequences of failing to use a viewpoint neutral funding process in disregard of the federal regulations are severe,” he said.
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