Texas City Becomes 64th in America to Protect Babies From Abortions

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jan 16, 2023   |   4:47PM   |   Austin, Texas

A Texas city voted Thursday to protect unborn babies by banning abortions on its residents even if the abortion takes place in another state.

Live Action News reports the Little River-Academy City Council voted unanimously in favor of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance, joining a growing list of cities across the nation.

Similar to other ordinances, the Little River-Academy legislation prohibits aborting unborn babies and aiding or abetting in their deaths within city limits, as well as abortion drugs and human trafficking. A private enforcement measure allows citizens to sue violators.

“It is the policy of the city of Little River-Academy to protect its unborn residents from individuals and organizations that aid or abet the killing of unborn children, and to protect the unborn from those who seek to kill or otherwise harm them, to the maximum extent permissible under state and federal law,” the ordinance states.

In Little River-Academy, abortions also are prohibited on city residents regardless of where the unborn baby is aborted, according to the report. The whole state of Texas protects unborn babies by banning abortions, but some residents are traveling to other states like New Mexico to abort their unborn babies.

Mark Lee Dickson, director with Right to Life of East Texas and founder of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn movement, addressed objections to this part of the ordinance by pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Skiriotes v. Florida, which recognizes that states have an interest in harm committed against their residents even when the harm take place in other states.

Follow LifeNews on the MeWe social media network for the latest pro-life news free from Facebook’s censorship!

“While some have opposed this provision by arguing that ‘cities and counties cannot prohibit actions which take place outside of their borders,’ the same individuals would likely not have a problem with laws regarding ‘conspiracy to commit murder’ – even if the murder which was being conspired were to happen outside of Texas,” Dickson wrote at Live Action News.

City leaders want to help families through the ordinance, too. It recognizes that “Texas men and women are being hurt and traumatized by abortion across our Texas–New Mexico border and sent back to Texas to deal with the aftermath in our homes, schools, universities, churches, women’s organizations and hospitals” and highlights resources for families in need through the Texas Pregnancy Care Network.

A growing grassroots movement is working to protect unborn babies at the local level. To-date, 64 cities in Texas, Ohio, Nebraska, Louisiana, Iowa and New Mexico have passed Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances that protect unborn babies by banning or restricting abortions and/or abortion facilities within city limits. Two New Mexico counties also recently passed ordinances to protect unborn babies from abortion.

Other cities and counties have passed pro-life resolutions, which are statements of support but not enforceable law, that recognize unborn babies’ right to life. In Arkansas, 19 counties and 10 cities and towns have passed pro-life resolutions, according to Family Council of Arkansas. Several North Carolina counties passed pro-life resolutions recently, too, and the New Mexico county commissioners of Otero approved a resolution in July condemning the pro-abortion laws in their state.