Texas sues San Antonio over Reproductive Justice Fund
The city had appropriated $100,000 to pay for abortions. This is the second lawsuit the city has faced over funding reproductive causes.
The state of Texas is suing the city of San Antonio over its establishment of an abortion fund.
Earlier this week, San Antonio officials appropriated $100,000 to its Reproductive Justice Fund, which paid for women to travel out of state for abortions. Lawyers for Texas contend that it violates state law, stipulating that public funds aren’t used for that purpose.
In a news release, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that the appropriation violates the Texas Constitution’s Gift Clause and represents an ultra vires action, a legal term meaning an entity or person exceeds its power. Attorney General Paxton’s Healthcare Program Enforcement Division requested a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief to stop the funding from going into effect.
“The City of San Antonio is blatantly defying Texas law by using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion tourism,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Beyond being an egregious misuse of public funds, it’s an attack on the pro-life values of our state. I will not stand by while rogue cities use tax dollars to circumvent state law and take the innocent lives of unborn children.”
Attorney General Paxton also sued the City of Austin in September 2024 because it allocated $400,000 of public money for abortion-related travel.
When the appropriation had passed in San Antonio, it wasn’t done with universal support. Councilmember Marc Whyte voted against the proposed ordinance authorizing an expedited process to fund logistical support for out-of-state abortions. He said it was because the city should have other financial priorities, but he also worried it wouldn’t hold under state scrutiny.
“Senate Bill 33 is likely to become law and would ban Texas cities from supporting abortion services,” Whyte said. “Backing this ordinance could put San Antonio in direct conflict with state law and expose taxpayers to costly legal battles.”
City Attorney Andy Segovia spoke on the lawsuit in a news release.
“Yesterday’s council action approved an expedited procurement process for the city to obtain proposals for downstream [reproductive health] services, which may include travel. The action did not award any funds for services,” Segovia said. “We are still confident that the action Council took yesterday is compliant with local, state, and federal law.”
This isn’t the first time San Antonio has had legal challenges to attempts to fund reproductive care.
The San Antonio City Council voted in September 2023 to put $500,000 toward a Reproductive Justice Fund. Officials were careful to say that the purpose of the money was unclear and that it was chiefly focused on education and contraception. Still, a group of antiabortion organizations challenged it in court to forbid its use for abortions.
How cruel can Texan legislators get? Why do the people keep voting these toxic people in?