Presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz directed almost $100,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to an organization specializing in “abortion doula” services, state contracts show.
Walz, the governor of Minnesota, spent almost $2 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds without the approval of the state Legislature, using his emergency powers, according to the Minnesota-based outlet Alpha News.
Part of those funds went to SPIRAL Collective, a “reproductive justice nonprofit” that describes itself as a “queer, trans, disabled, BIPOC lead organization committed to the values of reproductive justice and decolonial practices.”
SPIRAL Collective received about $97,000 between two contracts with the state to provide “current information on COVID-19 effects related to the maternal-child population by building an online community for families to receive resources and support,” according to contracts published by Minnesota state Senate Republicans in 2021.
The first contract began July 15, 2020, and ended in December 2020, and the second contract began February 2021 and ended June 30, 2021.
“We have seen a history of wasteful and careless spending under Gov. Walz,” state Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, told The Daily Signal. “I was very concerned when nearly $100,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds were given by Walz to a special-interest nonprofit that provides abortion doulas.”
“During the pandemic, we should have prioritized our seniors who were dying in droves in nursing homes,” he added. “These funds were not meant to advance a political agenda.”
SPIRAL Collective hosts classes for people (or “folx,” as it says on its website) who are interested in becoming abortion doulas. The organization maintains active clinic partnerships with abortion clinics such as the Planned Parenthood Vandalia Clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Family Tree Clinic in Minneapolis.
A local Minnesota outlet, the Sahan Journal, described the role of an abortion doula as “a logistical and emotional support person for women undergoing abortions,” an individual who might hold a woman’s hand as the doctor aborts her unborn baby.
According to the Sahan Journal, SPIRAL Collective has trained 500 abortion doulas since it was founded in 2012.
The SPIRAL Collective did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SPIRAL Collective’s voicemail specifically notes that the group specializes in driving women to and from abortions and training abortion doulas.
When state Republicans initially raised a ruckus about the matter in 2021, SPIRAL Collective argued that its work was focused on a virtual media campaign to offer Native American communities information about COVID-19, including information about giving birth and breastfeeding during the pandemic, the Star Tribune reported at the time.
The organization also offers resources on “chest and breast feeding,” reinforcing the false claim that men can breastfeed babies.
The organization’s “queer and trans inclusive guide to chest/breast-feeding” is led by an individual who goes by the name Kait—a “queer/disabled doula/mother” using they/them pronouns who uses “various mediums to explore their experiences with the intersections between mental illness, gender, sexuality, neurodivergence, disability, chronic illness, class, privilege, immigration, and solo parenting.”
Then-state Sen. Michelle Benson obtained the contracts with SPIRAL Collective through a data practices request in 2021, Alpha News reported at the time. Benson served as a state senator from 2013 to 2023.
“We need to vote to keep federal money under legislative control,” she told the publication in 2021. “Democrats in the Senate need to join us. Democrats in the House need to lead on this, and the governor needs to understand that the voice of the people is important in federal money decisions.”
Vice President Kamala Harris chose Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6. Walz, who was lauded as a safe choice for Harris due to his Midwestern heritage and military service, has strongly supported experimental transgender medical interventions for children and signed legislation protecting abortion, without limitations on late-term abortions.
He has drawn heavy fire in recent days amid accusations of “stolen valor” for embellishing his military service record.
Neither the Minnesota governor’s office nor the Harris campaign immediately responded to requests for comment. The White House referred The Daily Signal to the Harris campaign.
