AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin is facing a lawsuit over a budget item that allocates hundreds of thousands of dollars to help women accessing abortion care.
Last week, the Austin City Council approved its budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.
In it, there’s a budget item that allocates $400,000 to the city’s Reproductive Health Grant, which provides financial support for people in Austin traveling to access abortion care. The money can be used for things like travel, lodging, childcare stipends and food.
Former Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman filed the lawsuit that asks for a temporary injunction.
The city of Austin sent a statement to KXAN in response to the litigation.
“The City is aware of Mr. Zimmerman’s amended lawsuit in response to the recent budget allocation for logistical support services. We have successfully litigated this issue in the past and will respond to the recent allegations through the appropriate court channels.”
Meghan Riley, City of Austin Litigation Division Chief
What does it argue?
The lawsuit argued it is against state law to spend taxpayer dollars on “abortion-assistance activities.”
University of Houston Assistant Professor of Law Laura Portuondo said the biggest allegation is that the budget item is inconsistent with Texas statewide laws.
The lawsuit argued any use of taxpayer money inside Texas to acquire an abortion violates state law even if the abortion is being “procured” outside the state.
“That’s sort of a stretch, a pretty significant stretch of the law’s text, to suggest that simply giving someone money is furnishing that abortion, right? However, we do have that civil law that says that you can’t really aid and abet somebody in getting an abortion at all,” Portuondo said. “That one, it’s less of a stretch of the statutory text to say giving someone money is potentially conduct that would make you liable.”
The lawsuit alleged this budget item violates the gift clause, which says cities can’t give money to private individuals unless there’s a public purpose.
“The idea is if you’re giving somebody money for an abortion that can’t really be a public purpose,” Portuondo said. “Although what we see here is clearly a conflict between an understanding of what a public purpose is in sort of the state government’s mind and the localities mind.”
Looking at the wider context, Executive and Scientific Director at Resound Research for Reproductive Health Kari White, said Texas law does not regulate abortions that take place in other states.
“There is not a way for Texas to prohibit people from traveling to another state to get an abortion. People travel out of state to do things like gamble in Nevada or get medical care, more sophisticated medical care at a health center that is going to provide them with the treatment that they need.”
Kari White, Resound Research for Reproductive Health
When it comes to this Austin initiative, Zimmerman wants a temporary injunction so it can’t be enforced.
In order to get that, Portuondo said the lawsuit would have to win one of its constitutional arguments.