San Antonio ā As the San Antonio City Council spent a second day debating last-minute tweaks to the city budget, a proposal that could help fund trips to out-of-state abortion clinics continued to be a point of contention.
A $500,000 so-called āReproductive Justice Fundā is poised to make it into the cityās $3.7 billion budget ahead of a final vote on Thursday. Abortion advocates said a fund controlled by the Metropolitan Health District could support groups that provide sexual health services, including transportation and lodging for women seeking legal abortions outside of the state.
The procedure has been illegal in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and opened the door to state-by-state regulation.
Some groups have helped women get around the stateās ban by helping cover travel costs so they can go somewhere the procedure is legal.
Advocates and their supporters on the city council also said a Reproductive Justice Fund could also be used to support groups that offer reproductive health resources like STI testing or prenatal vitamins, reproductive healthcare education, support for doula training, or training for reproductive healthcare service providers.
Council members could pass the fund as part of Thursdayās budget without defining its exact limits, though council members would eventually need to nail those down.
Most of the council members have expressed support for some version of the idea.
āTo me, this item is not about abortion. It is literally about reproductive health. And itās an important aspect and component of womenās bodies,ā said Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7).
One of the ideaās biggest supporters, Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5), has said helping organizations that offer travel assistance would āideallyā be part of the fundās purpose. She has also painted it as a way to follow through on the previous councilās resolution last year expressing support for abortion access.
Castillo, Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), and Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) even suggested adding an additional $500,000 for a second year. They proposed the extra money come out of another possible amendment -- $1 million for an inclusive hotel through the Morganās Wonderland Inclusion Foundation.
āIām supportive of the mission, but I also recall they receive $14 million or $15 million from ARPA funding,ā Castillo said.
The only one on the dais to publicly oppose the measure has been the councilās most conservative member, Councilman Marc Whyte (D10). Speaking against the idea again on Wednesday, Whyte noted San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo GarcĆa-Siller has spoken against it as well.
āAnd I think he called this proposal āmorally repugnant,āā Whyte said. āAnd that was actually before what happened in the last hour here where we had council folks suggesting we take money from disabled care for disabled children and put it towards abortion access. I wonder what, what he would say about that now.ā
Whyte also warned of possible legal risks if the city helped fund travel for out-of-state abortions.
Though City Attorney Andy Segovia declined to discuss any legal issues in-depth during open session, he said there is āabsolutely no criminal liability for what the fund, I think, is slated to fund in terms of the array of services the organizations provide.ā
However, a 2021 state law passed before the overturning of Roe v. Wade allows anyone to sue someone who āaids or abetsā an abortion after six weeks. So, while there could be a risk of a lawsuit, he said, āIt can be mitigated by, again, the scope of services and the way we set up the contract.ā
āSo, to say that there is risk, I would say āyes.ā To say itās āproblematic risk,ā I probably wouldnāt characterize it that way,ā Segovia said.
At Whyteās prompting, council members met behind closed doors to discuss the possible legal issues in more depth.
Given the level of support from other members, the fund appears set to be included as part of the final array of budget amendments the council will vote on at its meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Additional money for Animal Care Services, around-the-clock coverage from the cityās mental health response team, and a public housing maintenance fund also appear poised to make the final cut.