A major medical association violated federal law by allowing members of the federal community service organization AmeriCorps to provide emotional support to women getting abortions in three New York clinics, a federal watchdog charged Tuesday.
The National Association of Community Health Centers improperly allowed AmeriCorps volunteers to support women getting an abortion at those clinics, the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Office of Inspector General reported Tuesday.
The IG said AmeriCorps gave the association $30 million over the last five years, but added that the organization is prohibited under federal law from providing money for abortion services, according to the IG report.
Specifically, the IG said the federal law authorizing AmeriCorps “expressly prohibits the use of AmeriCorps resources to ‘provide[e] abortion services or referrals for receipt of such services.'”
The violations took place from 2013 to 2015. The association, which represents health centers across the U.S., didn’t inform the federal agency of the decision, and didn’t try to determine whether it was permissible for AmeriCorps members to do so, the report found.
Other violations also surfaced, such as waste and fraud that were reported to the association’s senior management but were not acted upon, the report added. “The investigative findings reflect a lack of institutional control, oversight and good faith dealing in NACHC’s administration of this substantial grant,” it said.
Despite these violations, the association won’t lose its grant. Instead, the IG said the association is now required to boost its oversight of how grants are used, and forbidden to enroll new members on its current grant.
If these reforms aren’t taken up, the grant may not be renewed in the future. The IG said the association “disputes certain of the investigative findings,” but said it has agreed nonetheless to adopt those reforms.
Republican lawmakers weighed in that more oversight is needed to determine whether this was an isolated incident.
“Our laws protecting the unborn today are tragically minimal, but they must mean something and when they are not followed, consequences must be enforced,” said Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn.
