Washington, DC – ProPublica published an article on August 19th exposing how the Missouri-based unlicensed pregnancy clinic network, Coalition Life, is using state taxpayer dollars to finance anti-abortion advocacy in other states now that Missouri has outlawed abortion.
In response, Reproductive Health and Freedom Watch’s senior advisor, Jenifer McKenna, said the following:
“From 2021 to 2024, Missouri legislators directed over $29 million in taxpayer funds to unregulated pregnancy clinics. In 2021, they further boosted support by increasing tax credits for private donations. A recent ProPublica expose has revealed that “Coalition Life,” a major beneficiary of these credits, primarily operates outside Missouri, channeling most of its $1.5 million revenue into salaries and out-of-state activities. These funds, intended to assist pregnant women in Missouri, seem misused. This is just the latest in a series of investigations revealing mismanagement of taxpayer dollars in the unregulated pregnancy clinic industry. When will legislators finally demand accountability?”
BACKGROUND
- In Missouri, UPC industry revenues have soared, driven by state-implemented schemes designed to enrich the industry with taxpayer dollars, without any corresponding increase in oversight. Between 2021 and 2024, Missouri UPCs received over $29 million in taxpayer funding.
- Currently, the federal government and 21 states allocate hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to the unregulated pregnancy clinic industry, often without meaningful financial accountability or metrics to assess whether UPCs effectively meet community needs.
- The UPC industry garners $1.4 billion in annual revenue, with a growing share sourced from taxpayer funds, most dramatically in the wake of the Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe vs. Wade.
- Nationwide investigations have uncovered widespread fraud within the industry, a troubling revelation made even more concerning by the reckless Missouri expenditure of taxpayer dollars with little oversight or accountability.
- 96% of voters, across political affiliations, believe that all taxpayer-funded programs should be held accountable. The revelation that Missouri taxpayer dollars are spent out of state anti-abortion advocacy shows that legislators and regulators must investigate the appropriation and usage of taxpayer funds within the UPC industry.