Toledo City Council Proposes Use of Federal Relief Money to Transport Women Out of State to Have Abortions

The Toledo City Council plans to consider a resolution to co-opt COVID relief funds to transport women out of the state to have abortions.

The resolution, sponsored by Councilmembers Nick Komives, Theresa Gadus, and Michele Grim, calls for the appropriation of $100,000 from the COVID relief money provided to the city through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) taxpayer dollars intended to address the public health and negative economic impacts of COVID-19.

Councilman Grim said that the measure is needed to help Toledo residents with challenges getting medical attention.

“This would provide assistance to Toledoans who need practical support who need to travel to seek abortion care or if they are seeking it here and need practical support like childcare. Health care is a fundamental right, and we are making sure people can access what they are legally allowed,” Grim said.

The city would appropriate the money to the Agnes Reynolds Jackson Fund or “Aggie Fund,” a left-leaning nonprofit organization that provides patient transportation for abortions declaring its purpose is to make terminating pregnancy financially affordable and to keep abortions legal.

The Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), a Christian public policy group, said that utilizing the COVID relief money in this manner is a misuse of taxpayer dollars.

“It’s hard to imagine a more gross abuse of taxpayer dollars. The federal government provided these funds to help cities recover from the devastation of COVID closures. With all the Toledo residents have dealt with over the last two years, it’s a new low for the Council to consider giving these funds to fuel liberal, pro-abortion advocacy organizations,” Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, said.

The abortion environment in Ohio remains in flux after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade which guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion earlier this year.

Ohio’s most recent law, Senate Bill (SB) 23, sponsored by Senator Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), which prohibited the majority of abortions after six weeks of gestation, briefly went into effect. Still, a Hamilton County Judge has since placed it on hold.

CCV urges Ohioans to contact Toledo City Council members to reject the harmful resolution.

The city council has set to vote for the resolution at the December 20th meeting.

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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].