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San Antonio has shut down its out-of-state travel fund after a new Texas law prohibits the use of public funds to cover abortions and a federal lawsuit challenging the city’s fund.
City Council members last year approved $100,000 of its Reproductive Justice Fund to support abortion-related travel, prompting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sue the city on allegations that the city was “clearly attempting to undermine and subvert Texas law and public policy.”
Paxton said he won the case on Friday after the case was dismissed without a finding from either side.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he won the case after the case was dismissed without discovery by either side. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Texas respects the sanctity of unborn life, and I will do everything in my power to prevent radicals from using the system to kill innocent children,” Paxton said in a statement. “It is illegal for cities to fund abortion tours with taxpayer money. San Antonio’s illegal attempt to cover the cost of abortion tours and other out-of-state abortions has been legally defeated.”
But San Antonio’s city attorney said the city did nothing wrong and dismissed Paxton’s claim that the state won the case.
“This case was initiated and abandoned by the State of Texas,” the San Antonio city attorney’s office said in a statement sent to the Texas Tribune. “In other words, the City did not waive any claims; the State of Texas, through the Texas Attorney General’s Office, waived its claims.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will continue to oppose the use of public funds for abortion-related travel. (Justin Lane/Reuters)
Paxton’s lawsuit claimed the travel fund violated the gift clause of the Texas Constitution. The state’s 15th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Paxton and issued a temporary injunction in June barring the city from disbursing the fund while the case moves forward.
Gov. Greg Abbott in August signed into law Senate Bill 33, which prohibits the use of public money to fund “support programs” for abortion. The law also allows Texas citizens to file a lawsuit if they believe the city has violated the law.
“The City believes that the law, prior to the passage of SB 33, allowed the use of an out-of-state abortion travel fund that was publicly discussed,” the city attorney’s office said in a statement. “After SB 33 became law and no longer allowed that use, the City did not continue to purchase those specific items – consistent with its intent to comply with the law.”
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in August that bars cities from using public funds to help pay for travel or other abortion-related expenses. (Antranik Tavitian/Reuters)
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The Comprehensive Reproductive Justice Fund still exists, but is limited to non-abortion services such as home pregnancy tests, emergency contraception and STI testing.
The city of Austin also closed its abortion travel fund after the law was signed. Austin had allocated R400,000 to the Reproductive Healthcare Logistics Fund by 2024 to help women traveling to other states for abortions with travel, food and accommodation subsidies.
