Texas takes from the poor to give to anti-choice group

If Texas wants to help people escape poverty, it's making some strange decisions about how to do it. This summer, the state has decided to use $3 million in federal funding for needy families to fund a hotline run by Human Coalition, an organization with a history of lying to people looking for abortion care and other reproductive health services.

Human Coalition says its hotline will offer "neutral, non-manipulative information on different abortion procedures, risks, and possible side effects" to "women most likely to obtain an abortion." But considering that the organization also operates a nationwide network of fake clinics that exist specifically to trick women out of getting abortions, its claims of neutrality aren't too believable.

What is Texas actually trying to do? Its contract with Human Coalition says the money is intended to increase the effectiveness of the state's "Alternatives to Abortion" program. 

Forcing people who are already struggling to support their existing children to have more pregnancies they don't want and can't afford is no way to improve their lives. Research shows that denying women a wanted abortion significantly increases their odds of unemployment, economic instability, and poverty. So it seems like this diversion of funding intended for low-income families isn't really about trying to help them escape poverty at all.

Women Help Women believes everyone deserves access to honest, medically and scientifically accurate information about all aspects of reproductive health care. If you have questions about abortion with pills, including how to get and use the abortion pill safely, we'll give you the facts at AbortionPillInfo.org.