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A proposal to use $100,000 in city funds to pay for some more “downstream services,” including out-of-state abortion navigation assistance, did not receive approval on Thursday from a San Antonio City Council committee.
The committee vote failed 2-1-1, with Councilmembers Teri Castillo and Phyllis Viagran voting in favor, Councilmember Marina Alderete Gavito voting no, and Councilmember Adriana Rocha Garcia abstaining. The vote needed majority support to pass.
The proposal came to the Community Health Committee following a memo signed by five members of the city council led by District 6 Councilmember Melissa Cabello Havrda in November calling for more funding to support out-of-state abortion travel.
The memo was sent after none of the money from the $500,000 Reproductive Justice Fund passed in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget was used to support abortion travel.
Viagran and Castillo were signatories on that memo.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg, whose vote would have lent a majority to those on council who want this additional funding, had said he would support new funding for abortion travel.
Alderete Gavito said she was pro-choice, but that she believed paying for out-of-state abortion travel was a job for nonprofits, not the city’s general fund. The $100,000 would have come out of San Antonio Metropolitan Health’s FY 2025 budget, which comes from the city’s general fund.
Rocha Garcia said she abstained because of a problem with the process of how the item was presented to the committee and the public, not the item itself.
“I’m going to go back and request an audit, essentially, of what the city clerk’s office uses as posting language,” she said. “I have very little confidence right now in the city clerk’s office, and I did not feel comfortable.”
She said it was not clear whether the item was only intended as a briefing on the new funds, or if there would be an actual vote on whether to move the item forward to a full council discussion.
City of San Antonio Assistant Director of Communications Brian Chasnoff responded to Rocha Garcia’s complaint.
“The posting was for briefing and possible action,” he said in a statement. “This is standard language used for all committees to allow flexibility for the committee members to do their work.”
Rocha Garcia said if the $100,000 for downstream services came back to council some way, “we can definitely discuss it at the full council,” but did not say whether she would support it.
Castillo, the committee’s chair, said the item was always intended to be voted on.
“The action that took place today is something that I’m still processing,” Castillo said. “I’m hopeful that there’s opportunity to reconsider investing in San Antonio women. What that can look like is a potential three-signature memo, a five-signature [Council Consideration Request], but those are conversations that will be ongoing and need to take place.”
In a statement, Cabello Havrda responded to the committee's vote.
"The committee’s decision is deeply disappointing," she said. "This funding would have been a vital step toward addressing the significant barriers many women in our community face in accessing essential healthcare,”
Cabello Havrda added that "every possible avenue" would be explored to find a way to support these kinds of services.
If the proposal had gone forward, the 10 groups that applied for the first round of Reproductive Justice Fund dollars would have the chance to reapply for more funds for downstream services, which includes abortion travel, STI testing and home pregnancy tests.
They would have had 30 days to apply, followed by a 30-day review process before the council would have ultimately voted on awarding the money.
It was unknown whether any additional city funds will be used to support out-of-state abortion travel.
