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San Antonio closed its out-of-state abortion travel fund after a new Texas law prohibiting the use of public funds to cover abortions and a state lawsuit challenging the city’s fund.
Last year, City Council members approved $100,000 for its Reproductive Justice Fund to support abortion-related travel, prompting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to file a lawsuit over allegations that the city was “transparently attempting to undermine and subvert Texas law and public policy.”
Paxton claimed victory in the lawsuit Friday after the case was dismissed without a result for either party.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims victory in the lawsuit after the case was dismissed without either side reaching a ruling. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Texas respects the sanction of unborn life and will always do everything in my power to prevent radicals from manipulating the system to murder innocent babies,” Paxton said in a statement. “It is illegal for cities to fund abortion tourism with taxpayer funds. San Antonio’s illegal attempt to cover travel and other expenses for out-of-state abortions has now been officially defeated.”
But San Antonio’s city attorney argued that the city did nothing wrong and rejected Paxton’s claim that the state won the lawsuit.
“This litigation was initiated and abandoned by the State of Texas,” the San Antonio city attorney’s office said in a statement to the Texas Tribune. “In other words, the City did not abandon any claims; the State of Texas, through the Texas Attorney General’s Office, abandoned 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 argued that the travel fund violates the donation clause of the Texas Constitution. The state’s 15th Court of Appeals sided with Paxton and granted a temporary injunction in June to prevent the city from disbursing the fund while the case moved forward.
In August, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 33 into law, which prohibits the use of public money to fund “logistical support” for abortion. The law also allows Texas residents to file a civil lawsuit if they believe a city violated the law.
“The city believed that the law, prior to the passage of SB 33, permitted uses of the fund for out-of-state abortion trips that were publicly discussed,” the city attorney’s office said in its statement. “After SB 33 became law and no longer permitted those uses, the City did not proceed with the acquisition of those specific uses, consistent with its intention from the beginning to follow the law.”
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in August that prevents cities from using public money to help cover travel or other abortion-related costs. (Antranik Tavitian/Reuters)
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The broader Reproductive Justice Fund remains, but is restricted to services other than abortion, 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 $400,000 to its Reproductive Health Care Logistics Fund in 2024 to help women traveling to other states for an abortion with funds for travel, food and lodging.