New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy budgets millions more for abortion

In the final budget proposal of his tenure, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has asked to direct an additional $2 million in taxpayer dollars to recruit abortionists relocating from states with pro-life laws. 

In the introduction to his budget proposal summary, Murphy says the state is “standing firm” on “reproductive rights,” including through a new initiative “that will recruit reproductive health care professionals from other states, especially those in which health care providers are being targeted by anti-choice policies.”

The $2 million boost would compound a further $50 million designated for funding abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood, and projects such as building a state stockpile of the abortion drug mifepristone. The amount marks a drastic increase in New Jersey taxpayer dollars covering abortion-related costs over the past several years, with funding for “reproductive health” having been only $7.5 million in the 2019 fiscal year.

In the wake of pro-life laws protecting preborn children in other states, the Garden State has marketed itself as a destination for abortion tourism. In 2022, Murphy signed two bills into law extending targeted protections to both abortion-vulnerable mothers and abortionists from out of state. It appears the governor’s efforts had the intended effect; approximately 59,700 abortions were committed in the state in 2023.

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“The lives of 59,700 future New Jersey citizens extinguished in just one year weighs heavy on our hearts, as does every single abortion. If we acknowledge that every abortion is a tragedy, what can we say about 59,700 in one year?” wrote Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, in response to Murphy’s budget address.

“We will never know what these precious lives might have contributed to our state, our society, and our communities, but what we do know is that abortion does not equal progress for women.”

The New Jersey pro-life organization also points out that the governor will leave behind a legacy of quadrupling the amount of state funds appropriated for the abortion industry — a total sum of $268 million throughout his time in office.

The new proposal to spend additional state dollars on funding businesses that end the lives of preborn children draws an ironic contrast to other provisions in the proposed state budget, such as tax exemptions for baby items and in-home nurse visits for families with newborns. These drastically different line items demonstrate the disparity between how New Jersey treats an infant when he or she is considered “wanted” in comparison to one considered “unwanted.”