(Texas Scorecard) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the City of Austin to stop taxpayer money from funding women’s travel for out-of-state abortions.
The lawsuit is in response to the City of Austin appropriating $400,000 for the city’s 2024-2025 “Reproductive Health Grant.”
The funds are intended to “support Austinites traveling to access abortion . . . including support for airfare, gas reimbursements, hotel stays, ride reimbursements, childcare stipends, companion travel, and food.”
The suit mentions that under the Texas Constitution’s gift clause, the Legislature has “no power to authorize any county, city, town, or other political corporation or subdivision of the State to lend its credit or to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual … whatsoever.”
“No city in Texas has the authority to spend taxpayer money in this manner,” Paxton stated in a press release. “In this case, the City of Austin is illegally seeking to use public funding to support travel expenses for out-of-state abortions. The Texas Constitution prohibits governmental entities from doing so.”
The Human Life Protection Act, which prohibits abortion, is also mentioned in the suit. The act states that “[a] person may not knowingly perform, induce, or attempt an abortion.”
The suit claims that the City of Austin’s allocations for abortion travel violate the Texas Constitution by aiding in the “logistical support” of abortions, which are unlawful in Texas. Paxton claims another violation is that there is not a “clear public benefit” in funding mothers’ travel out-of-state to abort their unborn children.
“Austin should not pay to kill its own innocent citizens, nor should taxpayers be forced to participate in this violence,” Kimberlyn Schwartz, a spokesperson for Texas Right to Life, explained to Texas Scorecard. “The city should help new mothers by supporting pregnancy resource centers, providing life-affirming resources to mothers and children, rather than ending the lives of the most defenseless within their communities.”
“Out-of-state abortions are a growing threat that the Texas Legislature must address in 2025,” Schwartz continued. “We are grateful for the Attorney General’s Office taking this important step forward to protect preborn children.”
Paxton is requesting a temporary and permanent injunction to halt the City of Austin and any of its officials from spending taxpayer money on facilitating out-of-state abortions. He has also requested a declaration stating that the city’s actions violated the state constitution’s gift clause.
In August, former Austin City Councilmember Don Zimmerman also sued the city over the fund.
