In this episode of the Texan recap, audio staffer Emma Rikalo discusses Ken Paxton’s lawsuit to the City of Austin over abortion fund and The Austin City Government has officially declared Sept. 26 as Con Mi MADRE (a non-profit for Latina students) Day.

Reported by Riley Walsh and Tyler Alexander Pullum. Hosted and edited by Elijah Carl. Cover art by Emma Berke. Music is by Top Flow Productions.

Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the City of Austin over a fund it uses to help women acquire out of state abortions. Paxton is accusing the city government of illegally using taxpayer dollars and seeks a temporary restraining order to halt the distribution of funds. Here with the story and more is General News Reporter Riley Walsh.

Riley, thanks for joining us.

Riley Walsh: Yeah, of course. I’m really excited to be here.

Rikalo: So, Paxton is suing the city of Austin around something within the Texas constitution called the gift clause. Could you tell me what that is and why it relates to the suit?

Walsh: Yeah. So, the gift clause like you said, it’s a part of the Texas constitution and it allows public funds like taxpayer dollars to be transferred to private institutions.

So, it applies in this instance because the city is using taxpayer funds to go to support abortion fund groups, which are then using the funds to help people travel out of state to access abortions. What Paxton is saying is that because abortion is illegal in Texas, it cannot bring a public benefit.

So, because it can’t bring a public benefit, it’s violating the gift clause.

Rikalo: Yeah, can you go more into how this fund and others have been working to help women get out of state abortions?

Walsh: Yeah, so the Austin Abortion Fund has assisted since 2019 but in August there was a budget amendment that passed that gave it additional funding and allowed it to be used to pay for things like travel out of state, hotels, lodging, and even like companions to go with you if you do have to travel out of state to get abortions.

And how it works is the city takes applications from abortion fund groups like Little Fund or Jane’s Due Process. And then with those applications, they disperse the funds, and then individual citizens can reach out to those organizations independently. If they’re in need of an abortion out of state and yeah, they help they help assist people in getting that done.

Rikalo: This isn’t the only suit against the fund as of now. Can you tell us about former council member Don Zimmerman’s own efforts to pause the fund?

Walsh: Yes, so when the fund was first established in 2019 Don Zimmerman, who, like you said, was a former Austin City Council member, and Tess’s Right to Life, which is one of the largest and oldest Anti-abortion groups in Texas.

They sued the city of Austin under the Texas revised civil statuettes. There is a statuette that prohibits anyone helping anyone get an abortion. So in the 2019 lawsuit Zimmerman claimed that, that, That statuette made the abortion funds illegal because the funds were being used to help people get abortions.

In 2019, a Travis County District Judge and an appeals court ruled against Zimmerman. They said that that statuette didn’t apply anymore because Roe v. Wade had been passed and it canceled it out. So they ruled against him then, but then when the fund was expanded in August, Zimmerman reappealed his case now that Roe v.

Wade has been overturned. He is he’s suing under that same statuette that says that it’s legal to help people procure abortions and that lawsuit is still ongoing.

Rikalo: So, what strategies have the city government been using to protect the fund from the legal threats we’re seeing now?

Walsh: Yeah so, so far, none of the threats have actually, like, done anything to prevent the funds from being distributed.

Both Zimmerman and Paxton in his lawsuit have filed for an injunction that during litigation would temporarily pause the fund. And then if a judge rules in their favor, it would permanently get rid of the fund and prevent the city from using public funds to access abortions. But nothing has been granted.

After Zimmerman filed his lawsuit in August the city came out in in support of the reproductive health grant. They said they’re going to continue to disperse those funds. Currently yes.

Rikalo: In terms of timing, why is Paxton pursuing this lawsuit now? Are there political or social developments that have influenced this case?

Walsh: Yeah, well, obviously a lot of things have changed after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Texas has one of the most strict abortion policies in the U. S. currently. After sit suites, abortion is almost completely illegal except in very specific cases where the pregnant person’s life is threatened if they don’t get an abortion.

But even with all of that legislation, it’s not very clear in what circumstances you’re allowed to get abortion.

Rikalo: Thank you so much for talking to us about this story, Riley. Thanks for coming in. Yeah, of course. Thank you.

The Austin City Government has officially declared September 26th as Con Mi MADRE Day. Con Mi MADRE is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Latina first generation college students and their mothers with the resources necessary for academic success. Their work stretches back to the 90’s, where they were initially founded in the basement of the School of Social Work.

According to their website, Con Mi MADRE has achieved a 97 percent high school graduation rate, a 75 percent college enrollment rate, and a 93 percent college retention rate. Here with the story and more is General Life and Arts reporter Tyler Alexander Pullum. Tyler, thanks for coming on.

Tyler Pullum: Thank you so much for having me.

Rikalo: Tell us about how Con Mi MADRE got started.

Pullum: Yeah, so basically when I was doing my interviews and initial research, I found out that the organization was founded as a branch of the Junior League of Austin in the basement of what is now the demolished social work building on UT’s campus, and it was founded by people who worked at UT, and it actually went under a different name.

Rikalo: Tell us more about what specific resources going to be mother are providing for these students and their parents.

Pullum: Basically, some of the specific resources that they’re providing is when the students get selected to join a particular cohort, usually about sixth grade, they get to work with a bunch of different students and peers. They get pulled from class and they have the opportunity to do these trainings and workshops to help them build their confidence and self-efficacy skills and really get to learn more about you know Being proud of who you are having that sense of self that is so important when you’re going through, you know, high school, college.

And then also they recognize that the support is just as important for the families as it is for the students who are actually going to school. And so, they have a lot of trainings, workshops and programs for mothers who are supporting their students as they’re going through their own journey.

And so, it’s just interesting to see how they help not only educate and train the students and the parents, but they also do a lot of mother daughter bonding activities as well. I know that they offer scholarships, and they have a newsletter. As they move on into college, they work with a specific college success advisor who meets with them monthly and helps give them advice, you know, whether it be academic or emotional and just help support them through the process.

And then they’re also still working with the mothers throughout the college process too. And then more of that is letting the mothers realize that they can take a deep breath and, and, and relax a little bit because you know, their daughters are in good hands, and they have the tools needed to succeed in college.

Rikalo: You spoke with Con Mi MADRE’s executive director. What insights were you able to get from her about the organization’s success?

Pullum: Yeah, so basically you know, the way that they look at the organization is it’s not just some kind of peer tutoring organization, or it’s not just some kind of organization where they just work with students and it’s done after a year or something like that, they really take a holistic approach to working with students and their families, and it’s not just an academic resource as well.

I remember during the interview the executive director was talking about how during the pandemic they made a list of people that they needed to call, whether it be the actual students themselves or the family members, and they just called around a bunch and they We’re making sure that everybody was okay.

They had everything that they needed because, you know, during the pandemic, obviously a lot of people felt really isolated, and it was really hard to get a lot of essential stuff with all the shortages and supply chain. So, they really have focused on building community, not just with the families themselves, but with the entire family of Con Mi MADRE.

Rikalo: You also talked with the current college coordinator, a UT alum who was a member of the program during her time as a student. Can you tell us about what that conversation was like and how she said the organization influenced her time here?

Pullum: Yeah, so basically one of the things that I remember her talking about her name is Emily, and I remember her saying that you know, without, it would have been really hard for her to get through college, honestly.

And she said that the support and the network and the safety net that she received through this organization really helped to make her realize that college was actually accessible. And it was actually something that she could do and pursue and succeed at. And she was able to find internship opportunities and a bunch of scholarships and different resources like that through the organization.

And actually, she’s joined a sorority that she found out about through Con Mi MADRE. And so she eventually interned with Con Mi MADRE, and she was actually able to start working as a college success coordinator there, and now she’s doing the same thing that she had when she was a part of the organization, and so being able to pour back into some of the youth is, it’s been, it’s been very fulfilling for her, and she’s really talked about how she’s really loved being a part of the program, you know, on the employee side and the staff side.

Over the past year, she actually just celebrated her one-year anniversary with the company, early this month.

Rikalo: That’s really interesting. Now with the organization’s recognition by the city, can you tell us about who sort of pushed this forward? The organization getting its own day forward in city council?

Pullum: Yeah, so from what I know the person who pushed it through is Austin’s only Latina councilwoman. Her name is Vanessa Fuentes, I’m pretty sure. And basically she was from my understanding, she was kind of a champion of making sure that the organization really got recognized, and I remember talking to the executive director about the ceremony and what it meant to be recognized by the city in this way, and you know the organization has been serving the Austin community for decades at this point, and so to be recognized in this way, it really meant a lot. And she said that it meant a lot to have a city that they started from recognize their efforts of promoting education and access to resources in the city, but then also she was talking about how.

You know, usually at these kinds of events, like, there’s not that many people, like, it may be, like, 10 or 15 people, but she said that they actually had 60 people that came to the event and came to support. And, you know, it was during the middle of the week, you know, middle of a weekday or whatever, and they had so many people come out and support, and it really just illustrates that community and that family vibe that you get through Con Mi MADRE.

Rikalo: Yeah, I think you basically touched on this, but were you able to get a sense from anyone other than the executive director about what the reactions were to Con Mi MADRE getting its own day?

Pullum: I mainly talked to the executive director about the day just because I felt like she [might know the most about it, but when I mentioned it at my other interviews, everybody was really excited about it.

I mean, you know, this is an organization, like I mentioned before, that came from the basement of a building that no longer exists and, and the fact that it’s been able to sprout and grow and become something much bigger, bigger than where it started is truly incredible. And it’s impacted thousands of lives.

They’ve worked with I think, 4, 000 students and families, which is really, truly remarkable. And then also they’ve had opportunities to expand and develop partnerships with local school districts and universities in the area. And even at one point, they expanded into other parts of Texas and, and they’re getting calls left and right from people across the country about how, you know, how do we create a support system and a network like this, you know, to model what you guys have done in Austin.

Rikalo: All right, thank you so much, Tyler. It’s been great talking to you.

Pullum: Thank you for having me.

Rikalo: The Texan Recap is a production of the Daily Texan Audio Department. If you liked this episode, make sure you subscribe to The Daily Texan on your streaming platform of choice, and follow us on Twitter at @texasaudio. This episode was written and edited by Elijah Carll and hosted by me, Emma Rikalo.

Special thanks to Riley Walsh and Tyler Alexander Pullum for their reporting. Cover art is by Emma Burke and music is by Top Float Productions. To read the stories in this episode or see more from the` Texan, head over to www. thedailytexan.com. Thanks for listening and I’ll see you next week.