This article was reprinted from Keystone Newsroom.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services last week announced the creation of the Women’s Service Program to provide women’s healthcare services to pregnant or parenting women across the commonwealth.
“[Last] week, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services released our new Women’s Health Services grants,” Department of Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh said in an interview with The Keystone. “This totals around $8 million. It is going out to six different regions across the commonwealth to organizations that provide services to women.”
“There’s a whole menu of services that these organizations will be providing around pregnancy, perm partum care, counseling, [and] education. Some organizations are using some of the funds to support menstrual products, parent education, pregnancy, education. A whole gamut of services.”
The new program was created with funding that once went to Real Alternatives, a network of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. Gov. Josh Shapiro announced in August that his administration would cancel the organization’s contract with the commonwealth once it expired at the end of 2023.