The city council of Toledo, Ohio has drafted a resolution that would funnel $100,000 from the $180.9 million in COVID relief funds the city received through the American Rescue Plan Act to an organization which subsidizes “abortion-related logistical needs.”
The Agnes Reynolds Jackson Fund, also known as the “Aggie Fund,” is a 501(c)(3) organization that exists “to lessen the financial burden of choosing to terminate a pregnancy.” It provides funds to abortion-seeking women living within a 75-mile radius of Toledo, and has agreements with three abortion facilities: Toledo Women’s Center, Michigan’s Northland Family Planning chain, and Detroit’s Scotsdale Women’s Center. Presumably, then, some of the taxpayer funds which would be diverted from legitimate COVID relief purposes would fund out-of-state abortion travel.
The resolution, sponsored by Councilmembers Nick Komives, Theresa Gadus, and Michele Grim, would also declare an emergency. According to Section 5 of the resolution, “The reason for the emergency lies in the fact that the Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and property and for the further reason that this Ordinance must be immediately effective in order to abolish medical debt for Toledoans that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The connections between subsidizing future abortions, preserving immediate public safety and property, and abolishing existing COVID-related medical debt are not explained, and are certainly not obvious.
“It’s hard to imagine a more gross abuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Aaron Baer, President of Center for Christian Virtue, an Ohio-based Christian public policy organization, in a press release. “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.”
The resolution is set for a vote on Tuesday, December 20.
