Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Austin over taxpayer funding for abortion travel

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Thursday against the City of Austin, seeking to block the use of $400,000 in taxpayer funds appropriated for out-of-state abortion travel expenses.

The lawsuit targets Austin’s “Reproductive Health Grant,” approved in the city’s 2024-2025 budget. The grant aims to support Austin residents traveling for abortions with costs including airfare, lodging and childcare.

Paxton argues the appropriation violates the Texas Constitution’s Gift Clause, which prohibits political subdivisions from granting public money to individuals.

“No city in Texas has the authority to spend taxpayer money in this manner,” Paxton said in a statement. “In this case, the City of Austin is illegally seeking to use public funding to support travel expenses for out-of-state abortions. The Texas Constitution prohibits governmental entities from doing so.”

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He’s seeking a temporary restraining order to halt fund distribution while litigation proceeds.

Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who authored the budget amendment, defended the measure.

“Reproductive care is essential healthcare, and these actions only further undermine local efforts to uphold bodily freedom,” Fuentes said in a social media post responding to the lawsuit.

The legal challenge comes after Austin’s city council reaffirmed its support for reproductive rights in a resolution passed last month, despite an earlier lawsuit filed by a former council member over the abortion travel funds.

Texas enacted a near-total ban on abortions following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.