San Antonio council supports creating fund to help people travel for out-of-state abortions

A majority on San Antonio City Council signaled support for creating a $500,000 fund as part of next year’s city budget to help residents obtain legal abortions outside of the state, the Express-News reports.

Metro Health would administer the money and authorize grants to nonprofits that work for abortion access and reproductive health, according to the daily.

While some members of council spoke in vague terms about what the fund might do, District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo issued a statement explaining that the money could provide financial aid for people who need to leave Texas to end a pregnancy, according to the Express-News. Texas outlawed abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Castillo, the proposed fund’s most vocal supporter, submitted an amendment to carve the money out from $20 million surplus the city has through CPS Energy’s sale of excess power on Texas’ wholesale energy market, the Express-News reported.

Council is scheduled to vote Thursday on the city’s $3.7 billion budget for fiscal 2024.

District 10’s Mark Whyte was the sole council member who spoke up against the fund at a Tuesday meeting, according to the daily. Whyte — the body’s most conservative member — said he worries the abortion-access fund would leave the city open to lawsuits.

A law enacted by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature in 2021 allows any party to bring a civil suit against a person who helps a Texas resident obtain an abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

Even so, officials with several reproductive-rights groups this spring said they have resumed funding out-of-state abortions and related travel expenses.

That announcement came after U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled in February that Texas officials have no authority to enforce an abortion ban beyond state lines. As part of the ruling, the judge also said abortion funds likely can’t be held criminally responsible for helping people travel to terminate a pregnancy.

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This article appears in Sep 6-19, 2023.