Texas AG Ken Paxton sues San Antonio for providing taxpayer funds for ‘abortion tourism’

A Texas city is skirting state law by allocating taxpayer funds for pregnant women to travel out of state for abortions, according to a lawsuit from the state’s attorney general.

The lawsuit against San Antonio follows the city council’s recent 6-5 vote to appropriate $100,000 in funds towards the city’s “Reproductive Justice Fund.” Attorney General Ken Paxton said the funds would enable people to “evade Texas’s laws protecting the lives of unborn children.”

“Under Texas law, cities have no authority to use public money to assist people in circumventing Texas’s pro-life protections,” Paxton’s office said in a statement, as it asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order and “injunctive relief to stop the unlawful fund from going into effect.” 

“The City of San Antonio is blatantly defying Texas law by using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion tourism,” Paxton said. “Beyond being an egregious misuse of public funds, it’s an attack on the pro-life values of our state. I will not stand by while rogue cities use tax dollars to circumvent state law and take the innocent lives of unborn children.” 

It is not the first time Paxton has taken legal action against a city for allocating funds towards abortion tourism. In 2024, he sued Austin for “similarly instituting an illegal program” to fund abortion travel. 

Proponents of the abortion fund on the city council argued it was part of the city’s responsibility to help protect the “health and safety” of residents. Yet other members of the council said it was the wrong priority and warned that it would likely expose the city to costly legal battles. 

“Our priorities as a city must be clear,” Councilmember Marc Whyte said, noting that 22% of the city’s roads were in poor condition and citing the city’s high crime rates. “In 2024 alone, San Antonio experienced over 31,000 crimes against persons and more than 108,000 crimes against property. These are the issues impacting every neighborhood, and these are the problems we were elected to solve.” 

He added the city could not afford to “redirect limited resources toward efforts that go far beyond our municipal authority and into areas clearly regulated by the state.” 

Paxton’s lawsuit points to Texas law, which generally prohibits abortions unless the pregnant woman has a “life-threatening physical condition” putting her at risk of death or serious impairment. The filing also notes local governments do “not exist to fund abortions” and that elective abortions are not “essential healthcare.” 

“Using taxpayer dollars to fund out-of-state abortions serves to support and encourage acts that are unlawful in Texas,” it reads. “Defendants are transparently attempting to undermine and subvert Texas law and public policy.”