Austin, Texas redirects police funding to "abortion access"

Austin, Texas is doubling down on its stance as a sanctuary city for the abortion industry. The city’s 2021 budget, approved unanimously by the all-Democrat Austin City Council yesterday, cuts funding for the Austin Police Department and redirects a portion of the funding to subsidize abortion. Last year, the Texas Legislature passed a law prohibiting state and local governments from using taxpayer dollars to support abortion businesses and their affiliates. However, the city of Austin circumvented this law by including a line item of $150,000 in the city’s budget for abortion logistical services. While the funding cannot pay for the abortion procedure directly, this money is earmarked for expenses related to abortion, including transportation to the appointment, lodging, childcare, and legal services. The city contracted with Jane’s Due Process, an anti-Life organization that exploits underage girls by showing them how to obtain abortions without their parents’ involvement. Pro-Life Austinites have since sued the city. However, their 2019 lawsuits have been pending in county courts for almost a year. In setting the budget for 2021, Austin has reaffirmed its commitment to killing preborn children with taxpayer dollars by increasing the funding allotted for “abortion access” to $250,000. The approved budget cut $23 million from the Austin Police Department’s funding and shifted that money to pay for “health and social services” instead, unsurprisingly including “abortion access.” But abortion is not health care. Abortion does nothing to improve the safety or wellness of our communities. A procedure that always ends in the death of a preborn child and leaves women spiritually, mentally, and oftentimes physically scarred cannot be said to promote safety and care.