Austin, Texas, has been sued by the Thomas More Society for giving money collected from taxpayers to groups that facilitate abortions for women, which violates state law.
The lawsuit argues the law imposes a criminal liability on anyone who “furnishes the means for procuring an abortion knowing the purpose intended.”
The lawsuit also claims the city is violating the state constitution’s gift clause, which prohibits transfers of public funds to private entities unless the payment serves a legitimate public purpose and affords a clear public benefit received in return.
The case was filed in Travis County District Court on behalf of the group Texas Values and multiple individuals.
“The city of Austin is violating the law of Texas by using taxpayer money to aid and abet abortions, and the law of Texas continues to define this conduct as a criminal act,” said Thomas More Society Special Counsel Erick Kaardal.
“The city cannot hide behind Roe v. Wade because there is no constitutional right to taxpayer funding of abortion, and the city must obey and respect the state’s abortion statutes until they are repealed by the legislature that enacted them.”
The case was prompted by Austin’s granting of $250,000 in taxpayer money to organizations that provide travel, lodging and other logistical support to pregnant women seeking to abort their unborn children.
But the Texas Constitution prohibits cities from enacting ordinances that are “inconsistent” with the “general laws enacted by the legislature of this state.”
The complaint explains that in 2019, lawmakers approved a ban on granting taxpayer money to abortion providers unless they are for “basic public services, including fire and police protection and utilities.”
The city tried to get around that by designating the money for groups that arrange “travel and lodging” for women seeking abortion. Those groups technically are not “providers.”
But the claim contends the spending still violates the Texas Constitution because it prevents cities from enacting ordinances that “contain any provision inconsistent with … the general laws enacted by the Legislature.”
And the law imposes liability on anyone who “furnishes the means for procuring an abortion.”
Nationally, court precedent hasn’t repealed those laws, nor have lawmakers in Texas, the complaint said.
“An injunction that bars the defendants from providing taxpayer money to abortion-assistance organizations will not impose an ‘undue burden’ on any woman who wants to abort her pregnancy,” the filing claims. “It has long been established that women seeking to abort their pregnancies have no constitutional right to taxpayer assistance, and that the withholding of taxpayer subsidies does not constitute an ‘undue burden.'”
