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CV NEWS FEED // The Daily Caller reported Tuesday that a Maternity Home Tax Credit system in Missouri saved over half a million dollars in taxpayer funds.
St. Raymond’s Society maternity home in Columbia, Missouri, saves taxpayer dollars by “limiting future public spending on resources for homelessness and other social benefit programs,” The Daily Caller reported.
The program, which seeks to prevent abortions while supporting mothers and soon-to-be mothers in need, “gives donors to pro-life maternity homes a 70% return to use on their taxes.”
Maternity homes typically provide a variety of goods and services to pregnant mothers, such as diapers and baby clothing, mentoring, coaching, and clinical counseling.
“Along with saving lives,” The Daily Caller reported,
the long-term impact of these programs means women are less likely to fall into poverty and more likely to receive higher levels of education and therefore contribute more to society in the long run, drastically decreasing their need for future public resources like homeless support or additional healthcare or poverty benefits, the report found.
The Daily Caller added that the program was saving the state roughly $28,750 per person.
The co-founder of St. Raymond’s Society, Steve Smith, explained that the saved money was simply an additional benefit to the pro-life cause. “We know it’s good work, but by the same token, it’s also beneficial to the states,” he said. “When you can prove the results that it’s saving the state money, it helps.”
“If a maternity home serves 20 women, total savings for the state — and therefore the taxpayer — reaches $575,000 each year,” the report continued. “Furthermore, the report estimates these services save taxpayers an additional $74,559 annually by preventing the child from entering poverty later in life”
Smith added that maternity home services were not only effective in supporting women during pregnancy, but also played a pivotal role in laying the foundation for the lives of mothers and their children:
In helping vulnerable, expectant mothers break cycles of poverty and homelessness while addressing their healthcare needs and educational goals, maternity homes generate massive value for their communities. The women and families that maternity homes serve are surely the biggest winners, but with tax credit programs like Missouri’s, our state and our supporters see significant, tangible benefits as well.
Smith also praised the tax credit program and explained that the government was helping to save women and children, businesses were more inclined to be generous, and nonprofit organizations were thriving.
“The winners in all of this are our clients, the women, and children that we serve, because we can do so much more,” Smith concluded.
