Exactly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to an abortion, Planned Parenthood South Texas announced a new fund Monday that will help people access reproductive and primary health care services.
The initiative will not — and Planned Parenthood South Texas does not — fund travel expenses for out-of-state abortions, officials said during a news conference in San Antonio’s City Hall.
The nonprofit’s Fanny Fund, named for former Planned Parenthood Board Chair Elise Boyan’s great-grandmother Fanny Goldstein, will give community nonprofits in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley vouchers to pay for clients’ medical needs at Planned Parenthood clinics including contraception and testing as well as primary care including treatment for diabetes, asthma, depression and anxiety.
“Fanny struggled mightily against a range of challenges to raise a strong and resilient family,” said Mara Posada, the nonprofit’s director of public affars. “Elise believes that no matter what our own challenges may be, access to a reliable source of expert, equitable health care boosts our ability to overcome them.”
San Antonio partners on the fund include YWCA San Antonio, SA Youth and Empower House. The goal is to reach people who may not be able to afford the services that Planned Parenthood clinics provide, which includes abortion navigation and how to find medical abortion pills online. There are five Planned Parenthood health centers in San Antonio and two in Brownsville and Harlingen.
Fewer than a dozen anti-abortion activists attended the news conference and attempted to interrupt but Planned Parenthood South Texas President and CEO Laura Terrill spoke through several boos and jeers.
“Our patients don’t come to us to make a political statement,” Terrill said. “They come to us for life-saving, preventative health care they need. Making this essential health care available to Texans shouldn’t be controversial.”
The Fanny Fund was launched on Monday with an undisclosed six-figure donation from Boyan. Donations are accepted through the Planned Parenthood South Texas website.
Close to 800,000 Texans live in the health care “coverage gap,” meaning their income is too low to qualify for the Affordable Care Act marketplace but too high to receive Medicaid.
“This gap in critical care touches every part of our lives from physical and mental health to economic stability and social wellbeing,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said during the fund’s announcement. “The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision and the subsequent implementation of restrictive abortion bans have only exacerbated these challenges.”
Nearly all abortions are banned in Texas, with narrow exceptions to save the pregnant person’s life or prevent “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”
Amy Gonzalez, who had received contraception and other care from the nonprofit for years, said the services allowed her to live a life without unexpected pregnancies.
“That is a reason that I was not a teen mom,” Gonzalez said during the news conference. “That was a reason that I was able to go to college without any surprises and that was a reason I was able to start a business for myself.”
The Fanny Fund initiative is separate from the city’s $500,000 Reproductive Justice Fund, which is aimed at providing preventative services related to economic stability as well as providing direct resources such as contraceptives, youth sex education and potentially travel expenses for out-of-state abortions. The city is slated to post a request for proposals this week and allocate that funding in 2025.
Planned Parenthood South Texas might apply for the city’s funding, said Posada.
“Like any nonprofit, we look at all opportunities that are available and check out the RFP,” she said. “[We’ll] apply for funds if it makes sense for us.”
About 35,500 Texans traveled for to have an abortion in 2023, according to abortion advocacy organization Guttmacher.
It is not currently illegal in Texas to pay for someone’s transportation out of state to obtain an abortion, but legal challenges could change that.
San Antonio Family Association, Texas Right to Life and other anti-abortion plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in October against the City of San Antonio for its Reproductive Justice Fund, arguing that the fund would violate the state’s abortion law, which allows anyone to file civil lawsuits against individuals or groups who assist people in getting an abortion.
A judge dismissed the case in April, finding a lack of standing because the money has not been allocated, but Texas Right to Life President John Seago said an appeal has already been filed.
“We’re not backing down on that fight,” Seago told the San Antonio Report. “As this develops, we will look and see if the legal strategy needs to shift a little bit for a different piece of litigation” to include other funds and initiatives beyond the city’s.
“Today we saw, obviously, there is plenty of private funding for pro-abortion groups,” Seago said. “I think it just highlights the ridiculousness of San Antonio putting tax dollars towards these pro-abortion groups.”
