Austin faces lawsuit for providing financial support to people seeking out-of-state abortions

The city of Austin is being sued for a provision in the budget providing money to people seeking out-of-state abortions.

City Council last week approved $400,000 to fund travel – including airfare, gas, hotel stays and food – for people seeking the procedure, which is banned in Texas.

Former City Council Member Don Zimmerman, who filed the lawsuit Tuesday, argued it is against state law to “spend taxpayer dollars on abortion-assistance activities.”

“Any use of taxpayer money inside Texas to procure a drug-induced abortion violates (state law), even if the abortion is being procured outside the state,” the lawsuit states.

The suit states it is illegal to knowingly use taxpayer dollars to help people seeking these procedures. It also argues the city cannot enact rules that are inconsistent with state law.

The lawsuit names Mayor Kirk Watson and City Manager T.C. Broadnax as defendants, in addition to the city.

This isn’t the first time Zimmerman has sued Austin for using city money to fund these types of needs. In 2019, he sued to stop an effort to help low-income women obtain abortions, but a Travis County district judge ruled against him.

Since abortion became illegal in Texas, thousands of people have gotten the procedure out of state, which can be costly.

City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said that’s why this fund is a “vital resource.”

“Access to the full range of reproductive health care should be a fundamental right,” she said Wednesday. “In 2019, Austin made history as the second city in the country, and the first in the South, to fund support for communities seeking abortion care. As Texans face one of the harshest abortion bans in the nation, I’m proud to see our city reaffirming its commitment to essential reproductive health care.”

She said she was committed to defending reproductive rights in Austin.

Zimmerman would not comment to KUT. His lawsuit seeks to stop the city from spending money on abortion support and force it to return any money previously spent for such care.

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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