Heather Clark – August 26, 2020
AUSTIN, Texas — The city council of Austin, Texas has voted to not only to cut and redistribute $150 million from its $423 million police department budget, but to also earmark $250K for assisting mothers with the logistics of obtaining an abortion.
While state lawmakers last year passed a law banning funding of abortion facilities, the City is reportedly attempting to work around the law by making the funds available for abortive mothers seeking transportation and lodging, rather than giving the funds to the abortion facilities themselves.
Senate Bill 22, which went into effect last September, declared, “a governmental entity may not enter into a taxpayer resource transaction with an abortion provider or an affiliate of an abortion provider.”
Soon after the legislation became law, Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza and Council Member Gregorio Casar put forward an amendment to allot $150K for the expenditures of abortive mothers, such as those traveling for an abortion or obtaining childcare while they are away.
According to The Statesman, this year, Council Member Leslie Pool proposed allotting another $100K for “abortion access,” on top of the $150K that was marked last year but never utilized.
She stated that economic hardships due to the coronvirus pandemic necessitated the additional funding, telling the outlet, “We know the need is out there in the community, and we know we have an increase in need.”