Nevada Town May Ban Abortions, Become a “Sanctuary for the Unborn”

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Apr 5, 2023   |   9:51AM   |   Washington, DC

Nevada cities are considering Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances this spring as the abortion industry looks to open new locations to kill unborn babies along the border of pro-life states.

Assisting pro-life residents in Nevada and other parts of the country is Mark Lee Dickson, a director with Right to Life of East Texas and the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.

To date, Dickson has helped 65 cities and two counties pass ordinances to protect unborn babies, resulting in abortion facilities stopping abortions or canceling plans to move there. Currently, he is helping community members in West Wendover, Nevada to pass an ordinance there, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

“When it comes to Nevada and Utah, West Wendover is my focus,” Dickson told the newspaper. “And of course, what do we see in West Wendover? A city of 4,500 people, and Planned Parenthood is setting up shop there. Why is Planned Parenthood Mar Monte setting up shop there? I would assume it is because of its location. I would assume it is because they want that abortion traffic from Utah residents.”

Stacy Cross, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, admitted they have been planning to open an abortion facility in West Wendover because of its close proximity to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Aborting unborn babies is legal right now in Utah, but state leaders are battling in court to enforce its abortion ban. State lawmakers also just passed a bill to ban abortion facilities, and many predict unborn babies will be protected from abortion soon in Utah.

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West Wendover is located just a few miles across the border in Nevada, which allows unborn babies to be aborted for any reason up to 24 weeks.

Most community members do not want an abortion facility in their town. On March 7, the West Wendover City Council voted 4-1 to reject Planned Parenthood’s request for a permit, and local residents hope they will approve the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance soon.

According to the Tribune, Blessed Hope Church Pastor Dennis Draves and other community leaders have been working with Dickson on the ordinance. Draves said a city council member attended a recent meeting about the effort, but he did not name the local leader.

Dickson said he also met “with some community leaders who did not attend the meeting but who were very interested in the ordinance.”

The proposed ordinance does not outright ban killing unborn babies in elective abortions, but it works as a “de facto” ban by requiring compliance with the federal Comstock Act, he said. The law makes it illegal to mail or transport any “article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.”

If the city passes the ordinance and abortion activists sue, attorney Jonathan Mitchell, a former Texas solicitor general, has agreed to represent it pro bono, Dickson said.

Dickson said he also has been talking to local leaders in other parts of Nevada and Utah about passing pro-life ordinances.

“This Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance, which we hope to see pass in West Wendover, Nevada, would preserve the health and safety of all inhabitants … including the unborn, and ensure that the federal prohibitions on the shipment of abortion pills and abortion-related paraphernalia are obeyed – regardless of who is in the White House,” he said.

A growing grassroots movement is working to protect unborn babies at the local level.

To-date, 65 cities and two counties in Texas, Ohio, Nebraska 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.

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 the 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.