- June 12, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Business
ST. PETERSBURG — City council votes to approve small business grants are rarely contentious. But a plan to help southern St. Petersburg businesses renovate stirred emotional and heated debate in recent months.
That’s mainly because a pregnancy center, which pro-choice advocates accused of using unethical antiabortion tactics, was slated to receive a grant. The leader of the center, as well as residents who support it, have said those claims were baseless.
The St. Petersburg Pregnancy Center, also called Next STEPP, received the highest “score” for its application, meaning it was prioritized as a business that fit the criteria to receive funding. But in an April meeting of the City Council, several members said they were disturbed by the idea of granting money to the center.
“I don’t know if anyone in this building has been trapped by an antiabortion pregnancy center but I was when I was 18,” said council member Darden Rice. “It’s scary…
