Texas governor signs bill prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion travel

Texas Governor Greg Abbott held a bill signing ceremony Tuesday for Senate Bill 33, which prohibits local governments from using taxpayer funds for abortion.

Key Takeaways:

• Gov. Abbott held a signing ceremony for SB 33, a bill that makes it illegal for cities to use taxpayer dollars to fund women’s abortion-related travel expenses.

• Austin and San Antonio city councils had both funneled taxpayer funding toward hotel, food, and travel costs associated with abortion travel.

• The bill takes effect September 1.

• Texas supports pregnant women and their babies through the Thriving Texas Families program.

The Details:

Senate Bill 33 prohibits city councils in the state from earmarking taxpayer funds for abortion travel. The legislation came after the city councils in both Austin and San Antonio voted to set aside taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion-related travel expenses, with funds covering things including travel, hotel, and food costs for women to kill their preborn children out of state. The cities established those funds because the state of Texas protects nearly all preborn children from abortion.

SB 33 is slated to take effect September 1.

Why it Matters:

After San Antonio and Austin decided to create funds for abortion travel, state Rep. Candy Noble cited the need for SB 33 to “close a perceived loophole” in which taxpayer funds were used to pay for the killing of preborn children.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against both cities, but SB 33 now further ensures that using such funds to pay for abortion travel and related expenses will not be permitted.

Austin Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes has announced that as a result of the bill, the city will have to undo its Reproductive Health Grant program, and lamented the legislation as an example of “state overreach.”

“This was a program that we, at the local level, put together in response to living in a state where we have one of the strictest abortion bans in the country,” Fuentes told The Daily Texan.

However, it is clear that these cities are not setting aside special funds for life-affirming alternatives.

The state of Texas, unlike the cities attempting to funnel money toward abortion, has financially invested into the Thriving Texas Families program (formerly known as the Alternatives to Abortion program). As previously reported by Ruth York in a guest post for Live Action News:

The Texas Legislature set aside $165 million to fund the program for 2024-2025. $140 million came from the General Appropriations Budget and an additional $25 million came as a result of the Supplemental Appropriations Bill. 

The money is distributed to pregnancy centers across the state through organizations like the Texas Pregnancy Care Network (TPCN). 

Texas Health and Human Services says Thriving Texas Families:

• Promotes healthy pregnancy and childbirth.

• Promotes childbirth as an alternative to abortion.

• Increases access to resources that promote family and child development.

• Encourages family formation.

• Help parents establish and implement successful parenting techniques.

• Increases the number of families who achieve economic self-sufficiency.

• Provides a local approach and personalized support to pregnant women to promote childbirth in all instances of pregnancy.

The Bottom Line:

Jonathan Covey, Policy Director for Texas Values, praised Abbott for signing the legislation.

“We are grateful to Governor Abbott for once again protecting life by keeping taxpayer dollars from being used to fund lodging, travel, and other logistics of women seeking abortions,” Covey said. “By signing SB 33, we are putting an end to this dangerous and wasteful practice and ensuring that the sanctity of life is being upheld as the citizens of Texas intended.”

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