San Antonio City Council has encountered friction concerning the new 2024 budget proposal. While the bill allocated record funding for new police officers, as well as more funding for the clearing of homeless encampments, the controversy surrounding the new proposal derives from the establishment of the Reproductive Justice Fund.
According to KSAT 12, while the report does allocate $500,000 for the fund, it does not decide what the scope of the fund will be. Normally, funds of this nature are “used for services as contraceptives or reproductive health education”; however, abortion rights activists are calling on the city council to use the allocated money to help assist with travel expenses incurred to travel out of state for a legal abortion.
Regardless of the final purpose of these funds, the mission they are set to accomplish is an important one. In Texas — where abortion is now illegal — it has become harder for women to receive adequate healthcare for issues that arise during childbirth. According to NPR, states with restrictive abortion laws tend to see an increase in maternal mortality rates. This increase disproportionately affects women of color, and its effects are already being seen statewide.
According to the Texas Tribune, the “restrictive abortion law [has] delayed treating pregnancy complications until patients’ lives were in danger.” Pregnant women across the state are being put in danger as a direct cause of the abortion ban which may be the beginning of a new health crisis for Texas.
While there are still movements to re-establish access to abortion in Texas, the reality is that lawmakers have to act within the parameters they are given. Abortion access may be a long way away from becoming a reality, but this step is a meaningful one to address the adverse effects of a complete abortion ban in the state. As citizens, we must insist that funds are allocated to expand access to reproductive healthcare in San Antonio and assist those who wish to get an abortion out of state.
