Broke-Ass Michigan Throwing All Its Money At This Fun Anti-Abortion Grift

Big News for Prolife Budget Hawks: The Michigan state legislature, which can't afford anything anymore, did some Fiscal Responsibility the other day, appropriating $800,000 to "promote childbirth" and encourage pregnant ladies not to have no 'bortions. It won't include any money to actually help feed babbies or anything, but it will throw nearly a million dollars at "Real Alternatives, Inc.," a nonprofit that opposes not only abortion, but also birth control -- oh, and hadn't seen a single client in the first eight months of its almost million-dollar contract. That really ought to help a heck of a lot in a state with high levels of unplanned pregnancies!

Let's ask Detroit News columnist Laura Berman.

Real Alternatives is a group that does some truly important work in moving money around to prolife groups. It's a

Pennsylvania nonprofit that helps anti-abortion, mostly faith-based centers comply with separation of church and state regulations and receive government funding.

The firm seeks out Michigan pregnancy centers that oppose abortion and the use of birth control pills and that counsel women to choose adoption or birth in unplanned pregnancies. Theoretically, state dollars will pass through Real Alternatives to reimburse the Michigan centers for diapers, baby furniture and counseling services.

Or at least that's the idea, says Berman, pointing out that last year, "Real Alternatives failed to see a single client or sign up one Michigan provider during the first eight months" of its $700K contract for the year. But they did finally spend some $40,000 on actual "services" at some point, according to state reimbursement information. That must have done a lot of good, since they got another $100K for the coming year. Berman also notes that the contract is roughly equal to the total amount of money the state spends on pregnancy prevention and family planning for the same budget period.

Oh, and because it's government money that comes with that evil "Wall of Church and State" stuff, a lot of the biggest Protestant anti-abortion places aren't even applying for funding from Real Alternatives, because they'd rather pray with their clients. So the money's mostly going to a couple of Catholic anti-abortion places, which will use state funding for counseling as well as for diapers and maybe even some parenting classes. And if the money just vanishes into Real Alternatives, well at least it's better to pour money down the sewer than to give it to Planned Parenthood, right?

The expenditure probably seems like a great investment for pro-birth legislators, since it's almost guaranteed to result in more pregnancies among women who will then need public assistance, and then can be yelled at for irresponsibly having babbies they can't afford, the sluts.

[ Detroit News ]

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