Five members of San Antonio City Council are urging the city find another way to fund abortion travel after its Reproductive Justice Fund was approved without money for that purpose — one of its original objectives.
Council members Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6), Sukh Kaur (D1), Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), Phyllis Viagran (D3) and Teri Castillo (D5) submitted a memo to the the city calling for a new Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide logistical support for people seeking out-of-state abortion care.
San Antonio’s Reproductive Justice Fund passed last week on a 9-0 vote with District 10’s Marc Whyte, council’s most conservative member, abstaining.
The fund will allocate $500,000 for reproductive health education, contraceptives, STD testing and doula training. However, it failed to meet one of its main original objectives — providing travel funds for San Antonio residents who need to go out of state due to abortion restrictions in Texas.
The five council members who signed off on the memo are hoping an RFP can provide a stop-gap solution to account for the glaring omission.
The memo suggests reallocating $100,000 for “downstream” services supporting abortion travel, including travel expenses, hotel room, meds and after-care.
The push for funding comes as likelihood increases that Texas’ abortion ban will grow more restrictive as we stare down another Trump presidency. The maternal mortality rate in Texas has also surged by 56% since 2019, according to Havrda’s office. ProPublica has reported on three women who have died under the Texas abortion ban when doctors allegedly refused to perform life-saving procedures for fear of imprisonment.
“San Antonio’s Reproductive Justice Fund was meant to reflect our community’s priorities —health equity, reproductive autonomy, and access to comprehensive care,” Councilwoman Cabello Havrda, a likely mayoral candidate, said in an emailed statement.
“While the initial allocations provided valuable services, they fell short in addressing abortion travel support, which is critical for those most impacted by Texas’s restrictive reproductive health care laws.”
During last week’s vote, Mayor Ron Nirenberg joined the chorus voicing support for funding abortion travel.
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This article appears in Nov 13-26, 2024.
