Council to convene Thursday for special called meeting focused on abortion

Though there’s technically a week left in their summer hiatus, City Council will convene Thursday for a special called meeting that is centered on the city’s reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. On the City Council agenda is the GRACE Act, which establishes the city will not fund tracking or reporting abortions or reproductive health care, including criminal investigation and enforcement of abortion laws. The proposed resolution also declares the city will not “(p)rovide information to any other governmental body or agency about any abortion, miscarriage, or other reproductive healthcare act, unless such information is provided to defend the patient’s right to abortion care or the healthcare provider’s right to provide that care.” In line with that resolution, Council will also consider a separate resolution that looks at the city’s abilities to sponsor public education about birth control and provide low-cost birth control options for employees. Council will vote on another resolution that looks into the feasibility of providing city employees “access to reproductive health care services that were previously available to them but no longer lawfully available in the state of Texas as a result of the Supreme Court ruling in the case involving abortion rights.” Online registration to speak at the meeting opens at 10:00 a.m. today, and closes at noon on Wednesday. In-person registration to speak runs from noon on Wednesday until 9:15 a.m. on the day of the meeting in the City Hall atrium.