Volunteers with AmeriCorps escorted women to abortion clinics in violation of federal regulations, according to a report Monday evening in The Hill.
The newspaper said the charges would be detailed in a federal audit report Tuesday, citing “a source familiar with the report.”
“A few volunteer members” committed the violations in New York at one of the 38 community health centers that works with AmeriCorps’s health branch and its volunteers, the National Association of Community Health Centers said.
The clinic escorts, also known as “abortion doulas,” provide support, transportation and a physical presence to women seeking abortions. “That service is prohibited under the language of federal grants that helps fund the program,” the Hill reported, citing its source.
In a statement to The Hill, Dave Taylor, chief operating officer of NACHC, effectively acknowledged that the violations occurred, saying the group’s leadership “self-reported the issue to the proper authorities” immediately after learning about the conduct.
“We moved immediately to cease the activity in question, and suspended the identified site’s AmeriCorps members for a period until they and their site supervisors were retrained and revised member service contracts were reviewed and signed,” Mr. Taylor’s statement said.
AmeriCorps oversees community-service programs with about 80,000 volunteers nationwide and is managed by the White House Corporation for National and Community Service.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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