Local

Baker administration awards $4.1 million in grants to boost reproductive health access

With the help of this funding, all 11 organizations can either continue or begin to offer abortion services and support to anyone seeking to receive abortion care.

The Baker administration announced it will award $4.1 million in grants to 11 organizations, including Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, and health care providers to improve reproductive health access in the Commonwealth. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff File

By Heather Alterisio

December 29, 2022

The Baker-Politio administration announced Wednesday that it will award $4.1 million in grants to 11 local organizations and health care providers in an effort to improve reproductive health care access across Massachusetts.

With the help of this funding, all 11 organizations can either continue or begin to offer abortion services and support to anyone seeking to receive abortion care. This includes providing assistance with transportation and lodging, childcare payments, translation services, and abortion doulas, the administration said.

“Today’s announcement is one more step in affirming this Administration’s commitment to ensuring access to reproductive health care, including access to the full spectrum of reproductive health services,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said in the statement. “These funds help fulfill that commitment by expanding access to timely and safe reproductive health care that meets the needs of individuals and families.”

The recipients of these grants are Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Boston Medical Center; Cambridge Health Alliance; Health Imperatives; HealthQ; Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts; Tides for Reproductive Freedom and its sub-grantees, Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts, Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund and the Jane Fund of Central Massachusetts; and Women’s Health Services.

A sign hangs from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in August 2022 in Boston. *– AP Photo/Charles Krupa*

About half of the funding, or $2 million, was allocated from the fiscal 2023 state budget to boost reproductive health access, infrastructure, and security, the administration said.

The other $2.1 million comes from a $3.76 billion spending plan signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker in November that established a reserve fund to address reproductive and family planning service needs across the state.

The funding will allow these organizations to expand abortion access with more telehealth offerings, provider trainings, outreach efforts, and organizational development for all-volunteer abortion funds, the administration explained.

“Funding provided by these awards will support the infrastructure and capacity of reproductive health providers throughout the Commonwealth to ensure that sexual and reproductive health services are accessible to all Massachusetts residents and other individuals who may come to our state to seek care,” Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke said.

The move comes as Baker is wrapping up his time in office. In July, just a month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Republican governor signed a bill protecting and expanding abortion access in Massachusetts.