"Since its implementation in 2006, the Alternatives to Abortion program has included maternity homes and adoption centers, but the vast majority of the program's roughly 55 participants are crisis pregnancy centers. Siphoning money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) – funds intended to help indigent families – as well as general revenue, Republican lawmakers have steadily maintained or increased funding to the A2A program since its inception, even while slashing family planning funding and cutting vital reproductive health options, such as cancer screenings and preventative care. In fact, Texas accounts for nearly half of the $40.5 million in state funding of fake clinics in 14 states across the country, according to a nationwide analysis by Rewire.News. The Texas program initially got $2.5 million in 2008, $4 million in 2010, and $5.15 million by 2014. And since 2015, when the Chronicle last dug into the program ("Millions for Propaganda … Nothing for Women's Health," April 17, 2015), lawmakers have only ratcheted up their investments. The Legislature infused the A2A program with $18 million for the 2016-17 biennium. But that sizable chunk of taxpayer dollars is still only half of what they ended up giving CPCs the following legislative session."
