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A brand new regulation barring the usage of public funds to help Texas sufferers in search of abortions exterior the state has resulted within the dismissal of the state legal professional basic’s lawsuit towards town of San Antonio.
Texas Lawyer Normal Ken Paxton’s workplace claimed victory within the lawsuit Friday after the case was non-suited, that means it was dismissed with out a discovering for both aspect.
“Texas respects the sanctity of unborn life, and I’ll all the time do every thing in my energy to forestall radicals from manipulating the system to homicide harmless infants,” Texas Lawyer Normal Ken Paxton stated in a press release. “It’s unlawful for cities to fund abortion tourism with taxpayer funds. San Antonio’s illegal try and cowl the journey and different bills for out-of-state abortions has now formally been defeated.”
San Antonio’s metropolis legal professional dismissed the notion that town did something fallacious and that the state received the lawsuit.
“This litigation was each initiated and deserted by the State of Texas,” the San Antonio metropolis legal professional’s workplace stated in a press release Friday afternoon. “In different phrases, the Metropolis didn’t drop any claims; the State of Texas, by means of the Texas Workplace of the Lawyer Normal, dropped its claims.”
Final April, San Antonio Metropolis Council members authorized $100,000 to its Reproductive Justice Fund to assist help abortion-related travels. Paxton’s workplace sued the following day, arguing that town was “transparently making an attempt to undermine and subvert Texas regulation and public coverage.”
The lawsuit alleged that the fund violates the present clause of the Texas Structure, and requested a brief injunction blocking the funding allocation. The state’s fifteenth Court docket of Appeals sided with Paxton, granting a brief injunction to cease town from disbursing $100,000 into the fund.
Then in August, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into regulation Senate Invoice 33 that bars the usage of public cash to fund “logistical help” for abortion. As well as, the regulation permits Texas residents to file a civil go well with in the event that they imagine a metropolis violated the regulation. “The Metropolis believed the regulation, previous to the passage of SB 33, allowed the makes use of of the fund for out-of-state abortion journey that had been mentioned publicly,” town legal professional’s workplace stated. “After SB 33 grew to become regulation and not allowed these makes use of, the Metropolis didn’t proceed with the procurement of these particular makes use of—in keeping with its intent all alongside that it will observe the regulation.”
The next month, town of Austin shut down its abortion journey fund. Town had allotted $400,000 to its Reproductive Healthcare Logistics Fund in 2024 to help girls touring to different states for an abortion with journey, meals and lodging funding.
This text first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
