A UT-Austin research project on “self-managed medication abortions” received funding from an abortion advocacy group.
The payments, discovered via an open records request, span from late 2018 through 2025 and were made from the Society of Family Planning Research Fund to Project SANA at the University of Texas at Austin.
In late 2018, Project SANA, which stands for “Self-managed Abortion Needs Assessment,” entered into a grant contract with the Society of Family Planning Research Fund. Project SANA received a total of $1,944,587, paid in three installments, between 2018 and 2021.
In addition, a separate open records request revealed that Project SANA has two active funding agreements with the same organization. One agreement is for $500,000 and runs from April 1, 2025 to April 30, 2027. The other is for $75,000 and runs from Jan 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2025.
In total, Project SANA is set to receive just over $2.5 million.
The Society of Family Planning is a Colorado-based organization with a self-described mission to become “the source for abortion and contraception science.” It “believe[s] in just and equitable abortion and contraception informed by science.”
Framing abortion as an “essential and critical component of comprehensive healthcare,” the organization’s position statement expresses opposition against legislative efforts to protect life.
“The Society opposes the inclusion of gestational duration limits, including viability, in legislation, laws, initiatives, or regulations,” the website reads. “The Society opposes criminalization of abortion care at any point in pregnancy, including patients and clinicians.”
The discovery of these payments to UT-Austin comes as the university’s partnership with pro-abortion organizations has received increased scrutiny.
As previously reported, in 2021, on behalf of the pro-abortion Project SANA, the university paid an invoice to Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, founder of the abortion pill trafficking group Aid Access.
According to its website, Aid Access has “facilitated over 200,000 online abortions” in the United States since 2018.
Texas Scorecard confirmed the payment to Gomperts through an open records request. As part of the same open records request, the university released Gomperts’ independent contractor agreement.
That agreement contained documentation of Project SANA’s original outside funding contract for the “self-managed medication abortions” research.
In addition to the partnerships discussed in this article, the Steve Hicks School of Social Work terminated an agreement with Planned Parenthood in February.
As of July 16, Project SANA’s page on UT-Austin’s website has been removed. The university referred questions about the group’s current status to Project SANA itself, which did not reply to an inquiry.
Gov. Greg Abbott has placed “legislation further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion” on the call for the current special session of the Texas Legislature. Several bills related to interstate trafficking of abortion pills were filed during the first special session.
UT-Austin did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
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