The state is in search of a short lived restraining order to cease San Antonio from distributing metropolis funds to teams that help girls in search of out-of-state abortions.
The lawsuit filed by Texas Legal professional Basic Ken Paxton comes only a day after Metropolis Council voted to approve spending $100,000 of its reproductive well being fund on companies like emergency contraception and transportation.
In an announcement, Paxton stated San Antonio was “blatantly defying” state legislation, and that cities “don’t have any authority to make use of public cash to help folks in circumventing Texas’s pro-life protections.”
His rationalization of which legal guidelines have been damaged was extra difficult, suggesting the fund violates the state structure’s “reward clause,” which broadly prohibits using public {dollars} for personal functions.
An analogous swimsuit was filed towards the town of Austin, which additionally sought to make use of metropolis cash to fund journey for residents’ out-of-state abortions.
San Antonio metropolis leaders preserve they’ve achieved nothing unlawful, however stated they’ll consider the particular allegations as soon as they’ve been served.
“Yesterday’s council motion authorized an expedited procurement course of for the town to acquire proposals for downstream [reproductive health] companies, which can embody journey. The motion didn’t award any funds for companies,” Metropolis Legal professional Andy Segovia’s workplace stated in an announcement. “We’re nonetheless assured that the motion Council took yesterday is compliant with native, state, and federal legislation.”
