Paxton sues City of Austin over abortion travel fund

Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the City of Austin in a Travis County district court, alleging taxpayer dollars are being used to “fund an illegal abortion-procurement scheme.”

Joining Paxton’s lawsuit is Mary Ann Teel, an Austin resident.

The City of Austin has included a provision in its 2024-2025 budget called the “Reproductive Health Grant” fund. This fund allocates $400,000 to assist Austin residents who need to travel out of state to access abortion services.

Paxton’s lawsuit states this violates the “Gift Clause” of the Texas Constitution, and several Texas statutes addressing abortion could be violated.

“No city in Texas has the authority to spend taxpayer money in this manner. In this case, the City of Austin is illegally seeking to use public funding to support travel expenses for out-of-state abortions,” stated Paxton.

“The Texas Constitution prohibits governmental entities from doing so.”

The Texas Constitution provides that “the Legislature shall have 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, association or corporation whatsoever.”

The Texas Supreme Court has interpreted this to mean that “a government in Texas that desires to dole out public funds must, among other things, ‘retain public control over the funds to ensure that the public purpose is accomplished and to protect the public’s investment.’”

This includes prohibiting local governments from making “‘any appropriation or donation’ to private entities … prohibiting any ‘appropriation for private or individual purposes.’”

Paxton’s lawsuit is seeking to prohibit the City of Austin from carrying out its abortion facilitation grant.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson responded to the lawsuit, writing that Paxton is “once again exploiting the great power of his office to attack and undermine the fundamental rights of women and try to score a few political points in the process.”

“I'm proud the Austin City Council is supporting Austin women as they make their own decisions about their body, their family, their health, their happiness, and their quality of life,” Watson continued.

Former City Council Member Don Zimmerman filed a lawsuit against the City of Austin earlier this year regarding the same abortion grant provision in the budget. Zimmerman also filed a similar lawsuit in 2019, though a Travis County district judge ruled against him.