Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, introduces a resolution honoring pregnancy care centers on March 10, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
A legislative resolution recognizing pregnancy care centers attracted little attention on Monday.
Author Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, characterized the facilities as staffed by volunteers that “help guide women in the direction … they need to go.”
What are pregnancy care centers?
Senate Concurrent Resolution 24 asserts that “the Indiana General Assembly strongly supports pregnancy care centers in their unique, positive contributions to the individual lives of women, men, and babies — both born and unborn.”
The recognition also included an appeal to federal and state agencies to support these organizations, which largely run on donations and volunteers, “in a manner that does not compromise the mission or religious integrity of these organizations.”
Raatz’s resolution claims there are more than 2,500 such centers nationwide, offering resources such as pregnancy tests, peer counseling, parenting classes, prenatal information, ultrasounds and referrals to other services. Real Alternatives
The Crisis Pregnancy Center Map estimates that Indiana has 96 such centers, but one pass-through entity stood out in testimony.
State likely to continue funding Real Alternatives despite questions over spending
In conjunction with its 2022 near-total abortion ban, Indiana increased state funds for Real Alternatives, an anti-abortion organization which offers the state “potential savings” of $210 million by referring clients to prenatal care.
While the lack of access to prenatal care is a troubling indicator of maternal mortality, the current Republican-supported version of the budget cuts funding for the local public health departments that offer such services.
The current fiscal year has a $4 million appropriation for Real Alternatives. Gov. Mike Braun’s proposed budget maintained the taxpayer dollars despite moves to cut other programs and agency budgets and the House-passed budget followed suit. Braun’s office didn’t respond to a Friday email seeking comment.
Indiana Right to Life launched an Amazon-backed “baby registry” in December, encouraging residents to directly donate items and funding to the “more than 100” centers in Indiana.
“Too often we wait for government to be the solution, and until programs like Real Alternatives came along to walk beside our (pregnancy resource centers), many of these centers relied fully on the good will and generosity of their communities and churches for decades to be the resources to support moms and babies,” said Mike Fichter, the organization’s president and CEO, in a December release.
Authored by Whitney Downard and originally published by the Indiana Capital Chronicle (edited for brevity)