{"id":228914,"date":"2020-08-14T12:36:28","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T17:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=228914"},"modified":"2020-08-14T12:50:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-14T17:50:19","slug":"austin-city-council-reroutes-police-pay-abortions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/austin-city-council-reroutes-police-pay-abortions\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin City Council reroutes taxpayer funding from police budget to ‘abortion access’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The City Council of Austin, Texas, voted unanimously this week to cut the city police department’s budget and transferred a portion of that funding to groups that help women access abortion.<\/p>\n

According to the Texas Tribune<\/a>, the Council agreed to cut about $150 million from the Austin Police Department’s budget for 2021 after the department faced criticism in the death<\/a> of an unarmed Black and Latino man in April and for the use of force<\/a> against people participating in anti-police brutality protests. Instead, that money will go toward social programs that the Council believes will help end racism \u2014 including abortion.<\/p>\n

$250,000 of the police funding will be rerouted to cover the cost of abortions for underprivileged women, in addition to $23 million in police funding reallocated to pay for “health and social services” which includes “abortion access,” according to Texas Right to Life<\/a>.<\/p>\n

State law prohibits local and state governments from using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions. Shortly after that law was passed in 2019, the Austin City Council set aside $150,000<\/a>\u00a0for programs that steer women toward abortion by providing travel, lodging, and childcare for the procedure. For underprivileged women concerned about affording a baby, the promise of having abortion-related expenses covered could add to the pressure they might feel to choose abortion instead of parenting or adoption.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Austin City Council to force Texas taxpayers to fund transportation to abortion centers<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“We did it!! Austin City Council just reduced APD’s budget by over $100 million *and* reinvested resources into our community’s safety and well-being,” said council member Gregorio Casar on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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We did it!! Austin City Council just reduced APD's budget by over $100 million *and* reinvested resources into our community's safety and well-being. Tens of thousands of you have called, emailed, and testified. You made the impossible into a reality. #blacklivesmatter<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/trrYSDEOK6<\/a><\/p>\n

— Gregorio Casar (@GregCasar) August 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n