City of San Antonio shuts down its abortion travel fund

A new law barring the use of public funds to assist Texas patients seeking abortions outside the state has resulted in the dismissal of the state attorney general’s lawsuit against the city of San Antonio. 

 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office claimed victory in the lawsuit Friday after the case was non-suited, meaning it was dismissed without a finding for either side. 

“Texas respects the sanctity of unborn life, and I will always do everything in my power to prevent radicals from manipulating the system to murder innocent babies,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “It is illegal for cities to fund abortion tourism with taxpayer funds. San Antonio’s unlawful attempt to cover the travel and other expenses for out-of-state abortions has now officially been defeated.”

San Antonio’s city attorney dismissed the notion that the city did anything wrong and that the state won the lawsuit.

“This litigation was both initiated and abandoned by the State of Texas,” the San Antonio city attorney’s office said in a statement Friday afternoon. “In other words, the City did not drop any claims; the State of Texas, through the Texas Office of the Attorney General, dropped its claims.”

Last April, San Antonio City Council members approved $100,000 to its Reproductive Justice Fund to help support abortion-related travels. Paxton’s office sued the next day, arguing that the city was “transparently attempting to undermine and subvert Texas law and public policy.” 

The lawsuit alleged that the fund violates the gift clause of the Texas Constitution, and requested a temporary injunction blocking the funding allocation. The state’s 15th Court of Appeals sided with Paxton, granting a temporary injunction to stop the city from disbursing $100,000 into the fund.

Then in August, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 33 that bars the use of public money to fund “logistical support” for abortion. In addition, the law allows Texas residents to file a civil suit if they believe a city violated the law. “The City believed the law, prior to the passage of SB 33, allowed the uses of the fund for out-of-state abortion travel that were discussed publicly,” the city attorney’s office said. “After SB 33 became law and no longer allowed those uses, the City did not proceed with the procurement of those specific uses—consistent with its intent all along that it would follow the law.”

The following month, the city of Austin shut down its abortion travel fund. The city had allocated $400,000 to its Reproductive Healthcare Logistics Fund in 2024 to assist women traveling to other states for an abortion with travel, food and lodging funding.