REPORT: The Texas Alternatives to Abortion Program: Bad Health Policy, Bad Fiscal Policy
During the 2005 Texas Legislative Session, lawmakers forced an unprecedented rider onto the state budget. Over the past five years, this rider has diverted $18 million dollars from preventive women’s health and family planning services and funneled them into an experimental new “Alternatives to Abortion” program. This program and its primary contractor, the Texas Pregnancy Care Network, have proven themselves to be a taxpayer-funded failure – at a high cost to Texans. As revealed in this report, the Alternatives to Abortion program provides no recommended health services, does nothing to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy (and thus the need for abortion), and uses millions of taxpayer dollars to fund a limited network of controversial, unlicensed, and unregulated social service providers. Instead of sinking millions of women’s health dollars into an inefficient, controversial program with a narrow focus and a hefty price tag, the state would do well to invest in streamlined programs that have proven to be successful and effective at providing health care and support for Texas women and families. Learn more in the report, "The Texas 'Alternatives to Abortion' Program: Bad Health Policy, Bad Fiscal Policy.”
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