Texas overhauls anti-abortion program that spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars with little oversight

Texas health officials are overhauling a program designed to steer people away from abortion following a ProPublica and CBS News investigation that found that the state had funneled tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into the effort while providing little oversight of the spending.

The money has been flowing to a network of nonprofit organizations that are part of Thriving Texas Families, a state program that supports parenting and adoption as alternatives to abortion and provides counseling, material assistance and other services. Most of the groups operate as crisis pregnancy centers, or pregnancy resource centers, which often resemble medical clinics but are frequently criticized for offering little or no actual health care and allegedly misleading women about their options.

In its 20 years of existence, the program's funding has grown fortyfold — reaching $100 million a year starting this Sept. 1 — making it the most heavily funded effort of its kind in the country.