Offering alternatives to abortion: The Thriving Texas Families Program

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the guest author.  

In a remarkable show of support for mothers and children, Texas has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the Thriving Texas Families (originally called Alternatives to Abortion) program over 20 years. This support network for Texas residents is funded through the General Appropriations Budget under Texas Health and Human Services (TXHHS). According to TXHHS, the program: 

Promotes healthy pregnancy and childbirth, promotes childbirth as an alternative to abortion, increases access to resources that promote family and child development, encourages family formation, helps parents establish and implement successful parenting techniques, increases the number of families who achieve economic self-sufficiency, and provides a local approach and personalized support to pregnant women to promote childbirth in all instances of pregnancy.

The Texas Legislature set aside $165 million to fund the program for 2024-2025. $140 million came from the General Appropriations Budget and an additional $25 million came as a result of the Supplemental Appropriations Bill. 

The money is distributed to pregnancy centers across the state through organizations like the Texas Pregnancy Care Network (TPCN). 

READ: AMAZING: Texas pregnancy center celebrates 30 years and 90,000 babies saved

According to its website, TPCN “is a non-profit, charitable organization committed to assisting organizations that help women in crisis pregnancies via free, compassionate, practical, and life-affirming services.” In describing its goals, TPCN’s website states:

TPCN’s Goals Are:

[1] To assist organizations that promote a woman’s physical and mental well-being during her pregnancy and postnatal.

[2] To assist organizations that improve the physical well-being of the unborn child and the newborn.

[3] To assist organizations that encourage adoption as an option for women who are unable to parent. TPCN primarily achieves these goals by serving as the prime contractor of the Thriving Texas Families Program, funded through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

To raise awareness of this pro-life support network, the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative highlights the program in their Texas ordinances. The information included in the “Findings” section of the ordinances is purely for educational purposes. 

Since its inception, the Thriving Texas Families (Alternatives to Abortion) program has faced scrutiny from all sides of the political spectrum. Perhaps most troubling are statements from some in the pro-life movement that misrepresent the program and the pregnancy centers that are a part of it. 

On May 28, 2024, Hope Choice Pregnancy Centers and Mentoring Programs Executive Director Candy Gibbs spoke against a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance before the Amarillo City Council. Surprisingly, Gibbs’ biggest complaint about the ordinance was its reference to the Thriving Texas Families (Alternatives to Abortion) program. She pointed out that it is government funds that are being distributed to pregnancy centers through organizations like Texas Pregnancy Care Network (TPCN).  

Pregnancy Resource Centers Provide Millions In Free Services

Gibbs stated:

One of my biggest concerns with this petition, from jump, was that the only resource you list is a website that sends people to government funded agencies.

These agencies claim to be pro-life, but they receive payment from the government for every diaper they give out, when they give out formula, classes, every interaction that they have with a girl.

And because they receive government dollars, they cannot share faith. They cannot share hope. They cannot share the truth about the plans and purposes that Jesus might have for her life, but they also are benefiting from the dire situation that this woman faces, and that’s who we put on the petition. 

Seeking to correct the misinformation and defend the reputation of Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle which funds Joseph’s Project, Texas Pregnancy Care Network’s Executive Director Nicole Neeley felt compelled to respond to Gibbs’ public statements. 

Neeley shared:

The Thriving Texas Families Program sets out that it promotes childbirth as an alternative to abortion, and all the organizations we contract with do so by providing counseling, classes, materials assistance, and referrals supporting eligible clients through pregnancy and up to 36 months postpartum.

Not every interaction an organization in our network has with a client falls under the scope of the program, and therefore organizations in our network do not receive payment for every interaction they have with a client.

While organizations can give clients material assistance, they cannot receive payment for doing so unless the client also receives counseling or classes that benefit their pregnancy or parenting situation. Furthermore, we limit the amount of material assistance an organization in our network can give to a client. Therefore, not every diaper or case of formula qualifies for a payment in our network.

When it comes to sharing faith, Neeley clarified:

We work with many organizations that can and do provide spiritual counseling, although they must seek the client’s consent and keep those services separate from government-funded services as is required by our contract with the state. 

We have over 180 locations across the state of Texas that report they do so much more for clients than what they receive payments for, and that receiving payments under this program does not get in the way of serving their clients but helps them flourish as organizations so they can help Texas families thrive.

Clarifying this point, in 2023 the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 24 to improve the program, including ensuring that the Health and Human Services Commission may not infringe upon the religious freedom and expression of those pregnancy centers that serve Texas women through the program.

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The Thriving Texas Families program is codified in Chapter 54 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. Section 54.009(b) states, “The executive commissioner may not adopt a rule that violates Chapter 110, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, or Chapter 45, Human Resources Code.” Chapter 110 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code addresses “Religious Freedom” and Chapter 45 of the Human Resources Code addresses the “Protection of Rights of Conscience for Child Welfare Service Providers.”

Despite the pushback, the Thriving Texas Families (Alternatives to Abortion) program has caught the eyes of pro-life legislators from coast to coast. Its success is being replicated across the United States, meeting the needs of countless growing families throughout the nation.

Bio: Ruth York, a homeschooling mom of eight, is blessed to live on the farm where she grew up. Always an advocate for life, she engaged politically on seeing the leftward trajectory of our nation in recent years. She now serves as vice president of Tea Party Patriots of Eastland County.