19th Texas City Bans Abortions, Becomes “Sanctuary for the Unborn”

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Feb 12, 2021   |   11:10AM   |   Goldsmith, Texas

Texas now has 19 cities that protect unborn babies from abortions.

The Texan reports the city of Goldsmith voted unanimously Wednesday to pass a Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinance and ban abortions within city limits.

The ordinance recognizes that unborn babies are valuable human beings who deserve to be protected under the law. It prohibits abortions within city limits and prevents abortion businesses from opening there. The ordinance also penalizes abortion practitioners for aborting unborn babies, but it does not penalize women who seek or have abortions.

“We declare Goldsmith, Texas to be a Sanctuary City for the Unborn,” the ordinance states. “Abortion at all times and at all stages of pregnancy is declared to be an act of murder… The Supreme Court erred in Roe v. Wade when it said that pregnant women have a constitutional right to abort their unborn children.”

Mark Lee Dickson, director of Right to Life of East Texas and leader of the Sanctuary for the Unborn effort, praised city leaders for making it a priority to protect every human life – especially when President Joe Biden is trying to do the opposite.

“The Biden Administration has been very clear that they are committed to seeing abortion access in every zip code,” he told LifeNews. “The City of Goldsmith, like the City of Grapeland who went before them, was the only incorporated city within their zip code. Abortion is not healthcare but the intentional murder of innocent human beings made in the image of God.”

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Dickson said two other cities soon may be voting on Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinances as well.

“Abortions may be able to happen elsewhere, but under the laws of the City of Goldsmith if anyone performs one within the city limits of Goldsmith they will be breaking the laws of the city and there will be consequences,” he said.

The other Texas cities that have passed pro-life ordinances are GrapelandNew HomeEast MountainWhitefaceWellsBig SpringRuskWaskom, Naples, Joaquin, Tenaha, Gilmer and Westbrook. Omaha also passed an ordinance but later retracted it and passed a non-enforceable resolution instead.

Residents of Lubbock also are trying to pass a Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinance after Planned Parenthood opened a new abortion facility there late last year. In November, the Lubbock City Council rejected the ordinance, but because of a citizen-led petition, residents will have the opportunity to approve the ordinance on the May election ballot.

Each ordinance includes a public enforcement mechanism and a private enforcement mechanism. The public enforcement mechanism establishes fines against the abortionist and anyone who helps with an abortion within city limits. However, it cannot be enforced until Roe v. Wade is overturned.

However, the private enforcement mechanism is immediate. It makes abortionists and those who help them “liable in tort to a surviving relative of the aborted unborn child, including the unborn child’s mother, father, grandparents, siblings or half-siblings,” meaning the abortionist can be sued for aborting the unborn child.

Abortion activists have tried to stop the Sanctuary for the Unborn effort, but, in May, the American Civil Liberties Union dropped its lawsuit challenging seven of the cities’ ordinances.