The organizers of SXSW say that the festival is not leaving Austin in response to some calls to boycott Texas and events there after the state enacted a strict anti-abortion law that alarmed women’s rights advocates.

On Thursday, SXSW organizers issued their first official statement on the anti-abortion law that was passed by the Texas legislature and approved by the Supreme Court this month. SXSW is the annual tech, music and film festival in Austin, the capital of Texas.

“We hear the calls for us to leave the state that we have called home for more than 30 years,” SXSW organizers said on Thursday. “Austin is part of SXSW’s DNA, and we are committed to staying and fighting alongside the people who have made us who we are,” the organizers said. “We will continue to use our platform to further the progression of human rights at home and across the globe.”

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Austin is known as a progressive bastion within an otherwise largely politically conservative Texas. SXSW is a magnet for media, entertainment, music and tech workers, who converge on the city yearly to attend panels that run the gamut from politics to culture. There are shows, films, and installations from major corporate sponsors.

SXSW organizers said moving the event would only harm its community. “SXSW leaving Austin would economically damage the city much more than it would the state,” organizers said. “Much of the economic impact derived from our event benefits the city’s small business and creative communities.”

The Texas anti-abortion bill outlawed abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and empowered Texas citizens to inform on people who violate the ban. Opponents of the law have said it will encourage vigilantism against women. Another recently passed Texas law imposed new voting restrictions, which civil rights advocates have argued unduly penalize minority voters.

“These grievous bills do not reflect the diversity of Texan voters or the evolving demographic and electoral trends,” SXSW organizers said. “And they certainly do not reflect the progressive views held by many in Austin. 

Those twin laws have created a hot political climate that affects the prospects for SXSW, which is set to be held in March after two years without in-person sessions. After the anti-abortion law won approval in the courts, there were some calls to boycott SXSW or to move the event.

SXSW has been having a tough couple of years. In 2020, the event was canceled because the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. just ahead of the festival. This year, SXSW held a virtual conference online.

SXSW organizers said they were motivated to make their statement this week ahead of the National Women’s March for reproductive rights set for Saturday. Organizers also said they would look for ways to promote activists at the upcoming SXSW in 2022.

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