Local pastors ask City Council to cancel funding for Gillette Reproductive Health

GILLETTE — Five years after Campbell County Commissioners stopped funding Gillette Reproductive Health with Optional 1% Sales Tax, the issue has come back around, this time in front of the Gillette City Council.

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, Reverend Zachary Viggers of Trinity Lutheran Church, joined by Pastor Ed Sisti of Open Door Church, Pastor Marty Crump of Family Life Church and Deacon Kim Carroll of St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, voiced their opposition to the city funding Gillette Reproductive Health, citing religious and moral grounds.

Under the current recommendations regarding 1% funding for social service agencies, the tentative budget earmarks $30,000 in funding to Gillette Reproductive Health, the same amount as the previous year.

According to GRH Executive Director Julie Price Carroll, the clinic has received funding for the city for more than 15 years.

Gillette Reproductive Health had been getting 1% funds from the county until it was discontinued after a heated public debate and a 3-2 vote in 2020.

Viggers asked for the funds to be redirected or for the line item to be removed entirely, arguing that aspects of Gillette Reproductive Health — notably its prescription of Plan-B drugs, while legal in the state of Wyoming, go against the morals of the community — reading from a letter signed by about a dozen pastors in Gillette.

“While we support the provision of essential health services for men, women and children, we have significant concerns about using taxpayer dollars to fund an organization that advocates for abortion, and I would add to that Plan-B,” Viggers said. “This stance is in direct conflict with Natural Law, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the entirety of Scripture and the deeply held beliefs of many in our community.”

The public comment came on the heels of Councilman Jack Clary bringing up the idea of canceling the 1% funding of Gillette Reproductive Health during the previous week’s work session, characterizing the organization as a non-pro-life group and asking the city council’s stance on pro-life or pro-choice.

In response, council members Heidi Gross and Jim West affirmed the benefits Gillette Reproductive Health provides to the community and said the council should be non-partisan on the issue.

As a recipient of Title X funds from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Gillette Reproductive Health is already barred from providing abortion services or directing patients to its use.

Under current federal law, non-profits which use Title X funds can not provide abortion services or direct patients regarding the service, although they are still required to provide information on abortion, unless specifically asked not to by a patient, as part of its counseling on pregnancy and prenatal care.

Additionally, Price Carroll mentioned that pregnancy-related care is not a primary focus of the clinic, and that the clinic provides far more annual tests and preventative screenings to residents, particularly a number of cancer screenings.

“One of the things that I always say is we can teach you how to get pregnant, and we can teach you how not to get pregnant, but our services end there, but that is not a dominant focus of our clinic,” Price Carroll said.

Price Carroll also noted that the clinic hopes to help clear up any confusion about its services during an open house next month, although the date has not yet been set.

“I encourage people to reach out to us, to come on a tour, to ask any questions that they have,” she said. “We have always been very transparent, and we just play a vital role in the community. For women that are uninsured, under insured, or women that are even on insurance, it becomes women helping women.”

This story was published on May 10, 2025.