State awards $3.5 million contract to anti-abortion organization for pregnancy services

The Indiana State Department of Health has awarded a one-year, $3.5 million contract for pregnancy support services to a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that counsels pregnant women against having abortions.

The money, which will come from federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds, will allow Real Alternatives to offer its services across the state. Real Alternatives had a $1 million contract for a pilot program in the northerrn part of the state that began last October.

Over the past year the Real Alternatives pilot program provided 8,452 clients with services over 16,839 visits, according to a news release issued Monday by Gov. Mike Pence's office. The release noted that existing federal TANF dollars given to Indiana will cover the new contract and that this will not entail cuts to any other services or programs.

"After seeing the success of the Real Alternatives pilot program in northern Indiana, the importance of expanding the contract statewide became clear," Pence said in the news release. "Today's announcement marks an important step for the health of Hoosier women and families in Indiana, and this additional funding will ensure important organizations across our state can continue supporting those in need."

The money is not part of the state's new Safety PIN program, a two-year $11 million initiative designed to lower Indiana's infant mortality rate, one of the highest in the country, said Pence spokeswoman Kara Brooks in an email.

Expanding the Real Alternatives program across the state could triple the number of Indiana women whom the program reaches, she said. The program will be open to any pregnant woman in the state, regardless of income level.

"Funding was fully utilized showing high client demand," Brooks said in an email.

Real Alternatives works with local providers to offer a range of pregnancy and parenting-related services, which includes counseling women on how to tell potentially non-supportive boyfriends and parents that they are pregnant as well counseling for depression, abuse, and child care for the 12 months following birth.

"Real Alternatives exists to provide life-affirming pregnancy and parenting support services throughout the nation," the organization's website says. "These compassionate support services empower women to protect their reproductive health, avoid crisis pregnancies, choose childbirth rather than abortion, receive adoption education, and improve parenting skills."

Nor does Real Alternatives endorse contraceptive use, according to its website.

A quiz on sexual health emphasizes the fallibility of contraceptives. It notes oral contraceptive use can increase the risk of certain cancers, but it does not contain the information that the National Cancer Institute provides that oral contraceptive use also can decrease the risk of other cancers. The quiz also notes that condoms do not offer 100-percent protection against pregnancy and STDs.

A call placed to Real Alternatives' offices Monday was not returned. The offices were closed for the Columbus Day holiday, a message noted.

Some women's health advocates question whether Real Alternatives' approach results in the best outcomes for pregnant women. The organization refers women to crisis centers rather than to health care facilities, said Abby Hunt, executive director of Health Care Education & Training, an Indianapolis-based organization that provides training to professionals on reproductive and sexual health.

"I think that true health care for women who are pregnant is giving them all of the tools that they would need to have a healthy pregnancy and avoid another crisis pregnancy, and that would be access to health care and contraception," Hunt said.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Director of Communications Beth Headrick said that Indiana needs to do more to become a leader in prenatal care.

"In an ideal world, the governor would first focus on well-informed decision-making when it comes to one's sexual behavior, their health and pregnancy," she said in an email. "We will continue to seek support for comprehensive, medically accurate and age-appropriate sexuality education so that Hoosiers understand the consequences of becoming sexually active. Planned Parenthood is all about exactly that – PLANNED parenthood."

Indiana is not the only state where Real Alternatives is active. Michigan and Pennsylvania also contract with Real Alternatives to handle their pregnancy and parenting support programs, the organization's website says. Pennsylvania has a $6.694 million contract with the organization for fiscal year 2014-15.

Last week, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he will announce an audit of the program this month after the newspaper reported that some of the local organizations with whom Real Alternatives contracted were providing misinformation about abortion and failed to disclose to women their anti-abortion tack.

Call Star reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter: @srudavsky.