Despite a wave of vandalism and threats since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, pro-life organisations have continued to serve pregnant mothers and their babies.
Real Alternatives, a pro-life organisation founded in Pennsylvania in 1996, has helped thousands of women in numerous states experiencing unwanted pregnancies by giving counselling on abortion alternatives as well as material support such as infant formula and other essentials.
According to the network’s director, they have been “working for the past 26 years to create a safety net” for the post-Roe era. Mothers can use their counselling and material assistance services for up to 12 months after giving birth.
“Luckily we have Catholic Charities and pregnancy support centers and maternity homes that are ready, willing and able to help as many women as necessary,” Kevin Bagatta, Real Alternatives’ founding CEO, told CNA in May.
Since the program’s inception in March 1996, Real Alternatives claims to have assisted over 405,000 women in Pennsylvania and Indiana.
Bagatta stated that the ultimate purpose of their network is to provide actual choices for women who find themselves trapped by an unexpected pregnancy and forced by others to abort, as well as to empower the women not to have to choose abortion.
He mentioned that in the 1980s, studies indicated that almost 80% of women who had obtained an abortion and were questioned stated they would not have gone through with the abortion if just one person had taken the time to help them. As a result, he explained, Real Alternatives counsellors build trust with each woman individually.
Today, the state of Pennsylvania provides Real Alternatives with funds totaling more than $7.2 million yearly. With that money, Real Alternatives supports Catholic organisations that offer free services including counselling, mentoring, case management, and more at maternity homes, adoption agencies, and pregnancy support centres.
According to Bagatta, an estimate based on CDC formulae shows that the investment will save the state close to $200 million in fiscal year 2021. The preventative care that the network is able to offer for mothers and babies, such as prenatal care appointments and immunizations, he added, accounts for a significant portion of the savings.
In the early 2000s, Real Alternatives additionally assisted the state of Texas in developing a comparable programme, which has since expanded to serve more than 175 locations across the state, including crisis pregnancy centres, maternity homes, clinics, and other facilities.
The Texas Pregnancy Care Network is currently wholly supported by state of Texas general resources. The organisation was the program’s biggest grantee in the fiscal year 2021, getting $36.6 million (almost 80%) of the cash given that year. The Texas programme is unique in that both women and men are eligible for pro-life assistance not just during pregnancy but also for three years following the birth of their child.
Since the draught Dobbs opinion was released, indicating that the Supreme Court will reverse Roe, the Texas Pregnancy Care Network has received threats, along with other pro-life and Catholic organisations.
Graffiti reading “Not a clinic” and “Forced pregnancy is murder” was daubed on the Loreto House pregnancy resource centre in Denton, Texas over the Mother’s Day holiday. The Woman to Woman Resource Center, another place of resources for women, was also vandalised. Both facilities are part of the Texas Pregnancy Care Network.