San Antonio shuts down abortion travel fund after new state restrictions, lawsuit
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San Antonio shut down its out-of-state abortion travel fund following a new Texas law banning the use of public funds to cover abortions and a lawsuit in which the state challenged the city’s funding.
City Council members last year approved $100,000 to the Reproductive Justice Fund to support abortion-related travel, prompting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to file a lawsuit over allegations that the city “transparently sought to undermine and subvert Texas laws and public policy.”
Paxton declared victory in the case Friday after the case was dismissed without a finding for either side.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claimed victory in the case after the case was dismissed without a finding for either side. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Texas respects the sanctity of unborn life, and I will always do everything in my power to prevent radicals from manipulating the system and killing innocent babies,” Paxton said in a statement. he said. “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 pushed back on Paxton’s claim that the state won the case.
“This case was both initiated and canceled by the State of Texas,” the San Antonio city attorney’s office said in a statement to the Texas Tribune. he said. “In other words, the City did not retract any allegations; the State of Texas, through the Texas Attorney General’s Office, retracted its allegations.”
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 alleged that the travel fund violated the gift clause of the Texas Constitution. The state’s 15th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Paxton and granted a temporary injunction in June to prevent the city from distributing the funding while the case continued.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 33 in August, which bans the use of public money to provide “logistical support” for abortions. The law also allows Texas residents to file civil lawsuits if they believe a city has violated the law.
“Prior to the passage of SB 33, the city believed that the law permitted the use of funds for publicly discussed out-of-state abortion travel,” the city attorney’s office said in a statement. he said. “After SB 33 became law and these uses were no longer permitted, the City did not proceed with the acquisition of these specific uses, which was consistent with its intent to comply with the law from the beginning.”
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in August that prevents cities from using public money to cover travel or other abortion-related expenses. (Antranik Tavityan/Reuters)
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The broader Reproductive Justice Fund remains available but is limited to non-abortion services such as home pregnancy tests, emergency contraception and STI testing.
The city of Austin also shut down its abortion travel fund after the law was signed. Austin had allocated $400,000 to the Reproductive Health Logistics Fund in 2024 to help women traveling to other states for abortions with funding for travel, meals and lodging.
