Why Controversy Re: Real Alternatives Isn't "Surprising"
New York, NY – In a recent interview with Catholic News Agency, Kevin Bagatta, the CEO of anti-abortion contractor Real Alternatives, said he is “surprised” there is opposition to the group. “‘You wouldn't think the work to help women, so that she doesn't have to choose an abortion, would be controversial. But it is,’ Bagatta said. ‘We're surprised that in 2019 there are groups that don't want us to be funded, there are groups that don't want the program to succeed.’” [Catholic News Agency, 8/13/19]
Here are the top reasons why no one should be surprised that Real Alternatives is controversial: It...
Uses Taxpayer Money for Private Gain – While RA is a non-profit, that doesn’t stop its CEO Kevin Bagatta fromprofiting handsomely. In 2016, his total compensation was $291,067. That’s roughly $100,000 more than the governor of Pennsylvania — the executive of the state that provides the vast majority of RA’s funding.
Promotes Ideology Ahead of… Science – Not only does RA not offer access to contraceptives and abortion access, but it systematically lies about the impacts of abortion as well, including the false claims that:
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Abortion causes breast cancer in 5% of women;
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Abortion has led to a ‘significant increase in murder rates’; and
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Women who obtain abortions are “more prone to abuse future children.”
Systematically Misuses Taxpayer Money – A recent audit by the state of Pennsylvania found that “Real Alternatives used hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars to fund its activities in other states…This is yet another example of the lack of oversight of state government grants that results in the wasting of tax dollars.”
Lies About How Many People it Serves – RA vastly overestimates the population its program serves. It claims to have served more than 8,000 women as part of the $3.3 million in funding it has received from the state of Michigan. In reality, in its first four and a half years of operations, RA provided services for just 3,771 pregnant women.
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