Austin, Texas’ Travis County Approves Budget With $450K for Elective Abortions
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 21, 2010
Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) — The commissioners on the Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday ignored objections from local pro-life residents and voted for a county budget containing $450,000 in contracts paying for abortions for poor women in the county where the state capital is located.
Travis County residents and pro-life groups pleaded with commissioners to either defeat the budget or remove the line item funding abortions from it.
Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe told those in attendance that the abortion funding can’t be removed, so the commissioners had to give final approval to the $109.6 million Central Health budget or defeat it.
According to the Austin American Statesman newspaper, Biscoe joined commissioners Sarah Eckhardt and Karen Huber in voting for the budget. Commissioner Ron Davis abstained from voting while Commissioner Margaret Gómez was absent from the meeting.
The newspaper indicated Central Health funded 582 abortions in the last fiscal year and has paid for 566 abortions in the fiscal year that will end September 30.
Marie Seale, director of Pro-Life Activities for the Diocese of Austin, attended the hearing and urged opposition to the abortion funding, saying Travis County is the only county in Texas to force taxpayers to finance abortions via its health budget.
Jeannine Floores, executive director of Breath of Life Maternity Ministries, bemoaned the fact that the abortion funding continues while Travis County lost two maternity homes in recent years that provide alternatives to women considering abortions.
The abortions are performed on demand on healthy mothers with healthy unborn babies and no medical reason is required for the abortions to receive taxpayer dollars.
Central Health (formerly the Travis County Healthcare District) is a taxing authority created by voters in 2004 to fund health care for low-income residents. Central Health is governed by a board of managers, which must approve the abortion contracts. The City of Austin has funded elective abortions since 1978 and, in 2004, Central Health took over the City’s abortion contracts and renewed them at least three times.
Despite the expressed opposition of thousands of Travis County residents, on September 15 the Board of Central Health unanimously voted to approve the abortion funding.
Three abortion businesses have contracts with the city for abortion funding, including Planned Parenthood, Whole Women’s Health and Austin Women’s Health Center.
ACTION: Send a message to the commissioners about their vote for taxpayer funded abortions at https://www.co.travis.tx.us/commissioners_court/default.asp
Related web sites:
Texas Alliance for Life – https://texasallianceforlife.org
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