38th Texas City Bans Abortion, Declares Itself a “Sanctuary for the Unborn”

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Nov 9, 2021   |   4:21PM   |   Austin, Texas

One by one, cities across America are rising up to protect the rights of unborn babies by banning abortions within their borders.

On Monday, the City Council of Anson, Texas voted unanimously to pass a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance that outlaws abortion within city limits.

“A great crowd of residents from throughout the city showed up in support to pray before the historic council meeting,” said Mark Lee Dickson, director with Right to Life of East Texas and founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn initiative. “Way to go Anson, Texas!”

Dickson said Anson (population 2,556) is the 42nd city in the U.S. and the 38th in Texas to pass an enforceable ordinance that prohibits the killing of unborn babies in abortions.

The ordinance makes it “unlawful for any person to procure or perform an abortion of any type and at any stage of pregnancy” in the city. It also prohibits “any person to knowingly aid or abet an abortion” and treats abortion-inducing drugs as contraband within the city limits.

The ordinance has both public and private enforcement mechanisms. 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.

REACH PRO-LIFE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE! Advertise with LifeNews to reach hundreds of thousands of pro-life readers every week. Contact us today.

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 in violation of the ordinance.

Two cities in Ohio and two more in Nebraska also have passed similar Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances. One city, Omaha, Texas, did repeal its ordinance and pass a non-enforceable pro-life resolution instead.

Though abortion activists have threatened legal action, the cities have been successful in court thus far. In 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union dropped its lawsuit challenging several Texas cities’ pro-life ordinances.

Then, in May, voters in Lubbock, Texas overwhelmingly approved a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance on the ballot, and Planned Parenthood was forced to stop aborting unborn babies there. The abortion chain challenged the ordinance, but a judge threw out its lawsuit earlier this summer.

Mariah Mayo, an Anson resident and nurse who supports the new ordinance, said her family has lived there for five generations, and she hopes to begin a family there herself someday.

“I stand here today for my coworkers who were unable to be here today, my ancestors who are no longer with us, and the innocent unborn who are unable to have their voices heard. … I too want abortions to be outlawed. Let’s add this to our many reasons why we are proud to live here in the great city of Anson, Texas,” she said.

Cody Cochran, pastor of Bethel Assembly in Anson, also celebrated the vote Monday.
“Tonight is a great victory for the Kingdom of God and for the City of Anson,” he said. “Very thankful for the men and women on the city council of Anson and thankful for the many men and women that showed up to pray and support!”

Dickson thanked the city council for taking action as well as city attorney Chad Cowan.

“[He] did a good job on Monday night explaining private enforcement to the city council and to the general public and City Manager Sonny Campbell really hit the ball home at the end of the meeting when he encouraged the citizens to keep showing up to city council meetings. All of our cities really do need to hear the voice of their people,” Dickson told LifeNews.com.

Dickson encouraged anyone interested in seeing a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance pass in their city to sign the online petition at www.sanctuarycitiesfortheunborn.com/online-petition.