On Tuesday, Texas Right to Life announced that it is suing the city of San Antonio over its “Reproductive Justice Fund,” a $500,000 taxpayer-funded endowment that offers money for such things as pregnancy tests, at-home STI (sexually transmitted infection) tests, emergency contraception, and menstruation products. The fund may also be used to provide logistical support for people traveling out of state for an abortion.
While the state of Texas essentially banned abortion (except on rare occasions) in August, San Antonio is attempting to keep the practice alive in the Lone Star State. And they’re using taxpayer funds to do it.
Pro-abortion organizations such as Jane’s Due Process, AVOW, the Buckle Bunnies Fund, Sueños Sin Fronteras, and the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity hope to use the fund to provide money for abortion seekers to travel to more abortion-friendly states to kill their unborn children.
“These groups violate Texas law by ‘procuring’ out-of-state abortions, which is a criminal act when any part of the procurement process occurs within Texas. The Buckle Bunnies Fund also directs pregnant women to obtain illegal abortion pills in Texas, which violates the state’s criminal abortion laws and the murder statute,” said a statement from Texas Right to Life.
“Texas Right to Life is suing to enjoin San Antonio from giving any taxpayer money to these criminal organizations, regardless of whether the grant is used for abortion or non-abortion purposes,” the statement added. “It is a crime to donate money to organizations that ‘procure’ out-of-state abortions in violation of the state’s abortion laws. Any individual or government entity that gives taxpayer money to these organizations becomes complicit in their criminal acts, even when funds are earmarked for non-abortion purposes.”
Proponents of the Reproductive Justice Fund counter that they’re not breaking the law. But they are definitely looking for loopholes.
“We need to discuss the opportunities we have to make an impact legally,” said Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, a San Antonio council member. “As far as we can go, I want to go there, of course, within the confines of state law.”
San Antonio city attorney Andy Segovia claimed that the lawsuit was “based on misinformation and false allegations.”
“A decision has not been made on how that money will be used,” Segovia said. “The City Council will have an open work session to discuss the use of the funds that will be managed by the City’s Metro Health Department. The funds will be distributed in accordance with state and federal laws.”
But Texas Right to Life contends that if the city gives any taxpayer money to organizations that look to procure abortions, it’s a violation of Texas law. Attorneys for Texas Right to Life have issued litigation-hold letters to organizations they feel might attempt to use Reproductive Justice Fund money for abortion-procurement services.
“Our clients will be seeking discovery from abortion funds and abortion assistance organizations in Texas that are eligible to receive taxpayer money from San Antonio’s ‘Reproductive Justice Fund,'” the letter states. “We intend to prove that these abortion funds are violating the abortion laws of Texas, and that any grant of taxpayer money to these organizations should be enjoined as an ultra vires act because it aids and abets their unlawful activities.”
The attorneys demand that those pro-abortion groups keep correspondence with the Reproductive Justice Fund even if it specifies that funds received will not go to abortions.
“We will not allow the City of San Antonio to give taxpayer money to criminal organizations that engage in abortion trafficking and disregard the Pro-Life laws of our state,” said Texas Right to Life President Dr. John Seago. “We will be taking discovery from every one of these abortion funds to expose their violations of state law and the criminal activities of their members and donors.”
Seago had a message for any other city in Texas that intends to subvert the new abortion laws of the state with a similar fund.
“Any other city in Texas that tries to give taxpayer money to abortion funds or abortion-assistance organizations will be met with a similar lawsuit,” Seago said.
San Antonio’s creation of their Reproductive Justice Fund exemplifies one thing: The pro-abortion movement will not simply go away because Roe v. Wade was overturned. Not only will they lobby to create federal protections for the grisly practice of abortion, they will use any form of law-fare and tortured logic to further their horrifying worldview.
