Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R-MO) is suing the city of St. Louis for passing a bill that would allow private financial assistance to women traveling across state lines for an abortion.
Schmitt's lawsuit comes just hours after Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones signed an ordinance that would put $1 million in state funding toward helping women get abortions in other states.
Jones' legislation would not directly pay for abortion procedures, instead, it would use federal COVID-19 relief money to fund a $1 million "Reproductive Equity Fund," which would cover travel costs.
The lawsuit argues that the bill violates Missouri's revised statutes prohibiting the use of public funds, employees and facilities to cover costs incurred for abortions, vowing to stop it.
"The City's use of public funds, public employees, and public facilities to encourage and assist abortion violates the Missouri General Assembly's determination 'that the state and all of its political subdivisions are a 'sanctuary of life' that protects pregnant women and their unborn children," the lawsuit reads.
Schmitt also described the ordinance as an "illegal move to spend Missourians' hard-earned tax dollars on out-of-state abortions."
Additionally, he filed a lawsuit for a preliminary injunction that would prevent allocated money from being used until after the court's decision.
Schmitt has threatened litigation for weeks after Kansas City and St. Louis took legal action against Missouri's abortion ban.