Attorney General Ken Paxton said that 'I will not stand by while rogue cities use tax dollars to circumvent state law and take the innocent lives of unborn children.'
(LifeSiteNews) — The attorney general of Texas sued the City of San Antonio last week after its city council approved thousands in funding to help women pay for out-of-state abortions.
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office filed a lawsuit against San Antonio on April 4, a day after the San Antonio city council appropriated $100,000 toward a “Reproductive Justice Fund” to help local women cover the expenses of crossing state lines to abort their children. Paxton has previously sued cities that help women have out-of-state abortions as well as cracked down on illegal abortions in the state.
“Beyond being an egregious misuse of public funds, it’s an attack on the pro-life values of our state,” Paxton said, according to a news release. “I will not stand by while rogue cities use tax dollars to circumvent state law and take the innocent lives of unborn children.”
The lawsuit claims that San Antonio’s “Reproductive Justice Fund” violates the state constitution’s Gift Clause, which allows local governments to use public funding on private entities only for a legitimate public benefit. The attorney general argued in the filing that funding women’s travel to kill their unborn child does not provide a legitimate public benefit and only serves to get around the state’s pro-life legislation.
Texas currently has a near-total ban on abortion, only allowing exceptions when the mother’s life is in danger. Under the state’s Human Life Protection Act of 2021, illegal abortionists can also be fined up to $100,000 and face up to 99 years in prison for each illegal abortion performed.
This is not the first time Paxton has sued a Texas city for funding out-of-state abortions. Last year, the attorney general sued the City of Austin after its council appropriated $400,000 in taxpayer funds for a “Reproductive Health Grant,” which would cover travel expenses for women who traveled out of state to kill their child.
The Texas state legislature is currently considering Senate Bill 33 that would bar any state taxpayer funds from being used on abortion related expenses.
Paxton has also vigorously prosecuted abortionists within the state. Last year, he prosecuted Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, a New York abortionist who mailed illegal abortion pills into the state. In February, Judge Bryan Gantt of north Texas ordered Carpenter to stop sending abortion pills into the state and to pay a $100,000 fine. In March, Paxton charged two people with providing illegal abortions and operating a network of illegal abortion centers.
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