State set to begin audit of nonprofit

“taxpayer-funded programs to reach out to women facing unexpected pregnancies.” One is in Indiana, where the state health department last fall awarded Real Alternatives a oneyear, $3.5 million contract after piloting the program in a part of the state in 2014.

“We know that Real Alternatives has long had a good reputation in Pennsylvania for the quality services they provide and the fiscal accountability within which they operate,” Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the Republican nominee for vice president, said in a February interview with Indiana Right to Life. “As Indiana considered this program, we wanted to ensure that taxpayer dollars were being spent in a wise and responsible manner.”

The Post-Gazette last year found that some literature displayed at some of Real Alternatives service providers included questionable claims about the health effects of abortions. Abortion-alternative providers have sometimes been accused of providing misinformation and drawing women in by not acknowledging their antiabortion position upfront.

Sue Frietsche, senior staff attorney with the Women’s Law Project in Pittsburgh, said it’s important that a review look at not only how the money is being spent but also “if the quality of the information being provided is worthy of public support.”

State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, hailed the fact that the audit was getting underway.

“The Real Alternatives program has many questions with respect to the socalled service that they provide, and the professionalism with which it is offered. Many of us believe that it is purely an expenditure of state dollars to misinform women about their reproductive health,” he said.

“Hopefully, whatever we find one way or another can help the Legislature or the governor make some wise decisions about what to do with this program going forward,” Mr. DePasquale said.