The state chapter of an abortion rights group accused some Texas legislators of playing politics with women's health at a Wednesday press conference.
The National Abortion Rights Action League's Pro-Choice Texas Foundation presented its third annual report, which found that state-funded crisis pregnancy centers do not deliver recommended services to pregnant women.
The Texas Pregnancy Care Network received a grant from the state to start and operate the Alternatives to Abortion program. Some crisis pregnancy centers began receiving state funding in 2006 as part of the program.
Crisis pregnancy centers do not provide medical care but provide references and information. According to the abortion rights organization's report, many centers have a religious, anti-choice mission.
Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, authored the addition to the state budget to create the program, which cut $5 million from family planning funding over the 2006 and 2007 fiscal years, according to the report.
The organization said that over the same time period, the Texas Pregnancy Care Network used more than $3 million to help an average of 127 women per month. The program also spent $1.4 million in overhead expenses.
The report said the Texas Pregnancy Care Network's crisis pregnancy centers do not offer a number of medical services - such as prenatal care or testing for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases - recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The centers are not required to hire medical professionals or social workers.
Austin's Gabriel Project Life Center receives state funding as a crisis pregnancy center, said Lorrie Saldivar, education class coordinator at the center.
Saldivar said the center offers emotional and spiritual support as well as educational classes. The center has no medical professionals, and Saldivar said the center tells women this when they walk in the door.
Rep. Dawna Dukes, D-Austin, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the state needs to re-evaluate the need for the Texas Pregnancy Care Network's program.
"If the true intentions of the program are to serve pregnant women, why would the state need to create a whole new program at a multi-million dollar cost to Texas taxpayers rather than simply augment the budgets of existing programs?" Dukes said.
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