Why Do Democrats Want to Fund Free Abortions Instead of Abortion Alternatives?

The Philadelphia Inquirer website ran a refreshing headline recently: “Rather than fund abortion, let’s invest in alternatives.”

The column, penned by writer Marybeth Hagan, began with a description of the Democratic National Convention, which was held in July in Philadelphia: “Democrats seem dead set on being the party that celebrates abortion and bills taxpayers for it.”

Hagan cites Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, who told conventioneers that Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton “will always stand up for Roe v. Wade and the right of every woman to access a full range of reproductive health care, including abortion, no matter her economic status.”

The columnist notes that later in the evening, at an event referred to as “Sex, Politics, and Cocktails,” Richards enthusiastically intoned, “We have to repeal the Hyde Amendment!” The Hyde Amendment is the legal firewall which prevents our hard-earned taxpayer dollars from being spent on abortion, except in the rare instances of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother.

As Hagan astutely states, ”Should a President Hillary Clinton and congressional supporters get their hands on the Hyde Amendment, Richards’ organization would have much to gain.”

That is because the nation’s largest abortion operation, which performed a mind-boggling 323,999 abortions in 2014, literally would have more money to kill if Hyde were scrapped.

Hagan notes, “Many of us would rather see our tax dollars invested in a state-funded, nonprofit program like Real Alternatives.” Real Alternatives administers Pennsylvania’s ground-breaking alternatives to abortion program, which has become a model for a number of states.

Real Alternatives has assisted more than 260,000 women and girls over the last 20 years, providing free services through a solid network of pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social service programs.

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In addition to its compassionate counseling, Real Alternatives provides baby supplies, maternity and baby clothes, mentoring, parenting classes, and even child care assistance. Its award-winning safeguarding of taxpayer dollars led to its duplication in Michigan and Indiana. In addition, Real Alternatives helped establish the Texas Pregnancy Care Network, which provides similar assistance to pregnant women in the Lone Star state.

Real Alternatives provides a lifeline to mothers, not only during their pregnancies, but also 12 months afterward.

As Real Alternatives President Kevin Bagatta told Hagan, “Our counselors establish a personal relationship with their clients who dearly need someone to trust. Many of them have no one (to turn to for support). These girls are loved by their counselors.”

As Hagan concludes, “So enough talk about funding the dead end of abortion. Let’s talk about equal rights to maternal love. Let’s back up that rhetoric with taxpayer support for programs like Real Alternatives that, in the words of our Constitution, ‘secure the Blessings of Liberty’ not only ‘to ourselves,’ but also to ‘our Posterity.’”

Alternatives to abortion programs are a wise investment for taxpayers—and a life-saving option which helps to empower women and to build strong families. These programs certainly provide a better return on taxpayer investment than Planned Parenthood, which sabotages women and destroys families, leading to a profound socio-economic cost from which the U.S. has yet to recover.