In a state where abortion is illegal under almost all circumstances, San Antonio was among the first municipalities to attempt to fund reproductive heath services — including potentially out-of-state abortion care — using its city budget in 2023.
Now that the Texas Legislature is back to work for the first time since then, an effort is already underway to crack down on funds like San Antonio’s, which quickly caught on across other blue urban centers.
Texas law already bans local governments from giving money to abortion providers and their affiliates, but Senate Bill 730, introduced last month by state Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), would expand that include “abortion assistance entities,” which it defines as people who aid women seeking abortion services, such as paying for their travel costs or helping them find abortion-inducing medication.
“We must close loopholes that allow cities like Austin and San Antonio to misuse taxpayer funds in ways that undermine our state’s pro-life policies,” said Campbell, whose Hill Country district stretches down to include part of Northeast San Antonio.
The conservative lawmaker and emergency physician has close relationships with the GOP leaders who control the agenda at the state capitol, where thousands of bills will be heard or killed over the next three months of the legislative session.
“SB 730 ensures that Texans are not forced to subsidize practices that violate their deeply held values,” Campbell said. “I am committed to seeing it through to protect both preborn lives and the integrity of our state’s local budgets.”
The rise of the ‘reproductive justice fund’
Groups that help women obtain abortion access were instrumental in pushing San Antonio to create a $500,000 reproductive health fund at the last minute during the city’s budget amendment process in the fall of 2023 — intended to aid groups like theirs.
A similar effort also took place in Austin, where money was included in the city’s 2024-2025 budget to help cover the cost of airfare, gas, hotel stays, child care, food and companion travel for people seeking out-of-state abortions.
But after multiple heated council debates about how to spend the money in San Antonio, city leaders ultimately turned down applications from two groups that included abortion access as part of their proposals. They also passed over two other applicants that had experience in providing abortion access, but planned to use the money for other services.
Instead the funding went to groups that focus on providing access to contraception, sexual and reproductive health educational in schools and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing — services not targeted by Campbell’s bill.
Still, several members of the council have been vocal advocates for a second round of funding that would help promote abortion access specifically. Among those, Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) said the city needs to fight Campbell’s legislation to preserve their ability to do so.
“This is another kind of blatant overreach that’s trying to strip local governments of our ability to support our communities,” said Cabello Havrda, who works as a disability attorney. “It’s tying the hands of local governments, preventing us from working with those specific organizations that provide critical reproductive health care services.”
The City Council will again discuss its legislative strategy next Thursday, but Cabello Havrda’s push comes as city leaders are taking a hard look at just how much they want to test GOP leaders now that Republicans are in control of federal government as well.
At the same time, conservatives in the Texas Legislature are also reconsidering the fallout from their years-long push to eradicate abortion.
At least three women have died in Texas due to delayed medical interventions as a result of the ban, according to ProPublica, and last month Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said state lawmakers needs to revisit the law to clear up confusion about when a pregnancy can be terminated to save the life of the mother.
