SAN ANTONIO – The 15th Court of Appeals has blocked a controversial San Antonio fund aimed at assisting women with out-of-state travel costs for abortions.
On Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the court stopped San Antonio from distributing payments from new funding allocated to the Reproductive Justice Fund while the case is still under judicial review.
Paxton sued the city in April after councilmembers narrowly approved sending another $100,000 to the Reproductive Justice Fund.
Paxton’s lawsuit against the city was tossed out in district court, but the 15th Court of Appeals order issued on Thursday grants Texas’ motion for temporary relief.
The funds were intended to be distributed to organizations offering services described by the city as “downstream services.” Travel expenses for women seeking legal abortions fall in that category, but it’s not the only one.
“It is going to allow people to get the health care that they need and want, regardless if that’s abortion care, Plan B, STI testing,” said Ariana Rodriguez, whose group, Jane’s Due Process, helped push for the fund’s creation. “There’s so many things that this is going to help fund.”
On Friday, Paxton called the fund an “abortion tourism program” that violated the Texas Constitution’s Gift Clause.
“Under absolutely no circumstances should any Texas city be funding out-of-state abortion travel, and I will continue to work tirelessly to end this cruel, unlawful, and morally bankrupt program,” Paxton said in a news release. “Forcing Texas taxpayers to subsidize abortion tourism is a profound insult to our state’s pro-life values and our laws protecting the unborn. As we fight to shut down this program permanently, I’m grateful that the court has moved to stop the implementation of this illegal, radical policy.”
The city’s attorney’s office said they are “disappointed with the Fifteenth Court of Appeals’ decision yesterday and its broad prohibition” in a statement sent to KSAT Friday.
“It is unprecedented in nature, and the City is exploring its options,” the statement reads.
A date for new contracts to go before the City Council for consideration had not yet been set.
BACKGROUND
This is the city’s second attempt to help fund out-of-state travel with the Reproductive Justice Fund.
The original $500,000 pot of money didn’t end up funding travel costs, as city staff said only two applicants included abortion navigation or transportation in their proposals, and neither of them made the final cut.
READ MORE: San Antonio’s controversial Reproductive Fund passes, but pay for abortion travel not included
The Reproductive Justice Fund was created following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, when abortions were almost entirely banned in Texas.
The city was sued by anti-abortion groups over the Reproductive Justice Fund shortly after the city created it. A state district court judge dismissed the case in April 2024, but the groups have appealed.
So far, the city has spent about $500,000 on legal costs defending the Reproductive Justice Fund, the city’s attorney’s office said Friday.
In 2024, Paxton sued the City of Austin for a similar taxpayer-funded program, his office previously said.
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