A Showdown In the West: The Fight to Outlaw Abortion in Texas
Dr. Ladd Hoffman (General Surgeon at Scenic Mountain Medical Center in Big Spring TX)
Cities across West Texas are considering passing an ordinance outlawing abortion within their city limits. On November 12th, in the city of Big Spring, representatives from Right To Life of East Texas, and city residents gave a passionate plea before their city council encouraging them to outlaw abortion in their city. By the end of the meeting, Mayor Shannon Thomason confirmed that the anti-abortion ordinance would be discussed at the next city council meeting on December 10th.
In June of this past year, the East Texas city of Waskom became the first to pass such an ordinance, preventing an abortion facility being opened there. Concerns grew due to increasing abortion restrictions in the State of Louisiana as local officials feared a clinic might try to cross the Louisiana-Texas border. The Louisiana clinic Hope Medical Group for Women, which is currently at the center of a heated Supreme Court case, services those within a 200-mile radius, crossing state lines. The clinic has been reported to perform around 100 abortions every week. About half of those abortions are from residents of East Texas.
When the city of Waskom passed the ordinance, Drucilla Tigner, Reproductive Rights Strategist for the ACLU said the ordinance “makes it impossible for an abortion clinic to exist in Waskom, ever.”
But Waskom is not the only East Texas city to pass such a law. Cities such as Omaha, Naples, Joaquin, Tenaha, and Gilmer have also followed suit. In West Texas, the small city of Westbrook has also adopted the ordinance.
One of the individuals leading the fight to outlaw abortion in Texas is Mark Lee Dickson, director of Right to Life East Texas. Regarding the recently passed ordinances, he stated:
“Some have entertained the idea of passing a resolution or a zoning ordinance instead of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance. The problem with that is a resolution will not deter the abortion industry from moving into a city. A resolution is a political statement. We do not need political statements from our elected officials that say they are pro-life. What we need are laws passed by our elected officials that actually make a difference [by] prevent[ing] babies from being murdered in our cities. The problem with cities passing a zoning ordinance is that, although a zoning ordinance might delay the opening of an abortion clinic, they often end up in lawsuits with the abortion industry winning. The question I would pose to every city is this: Do you want to merely delay the murder of babies in your city, or do you wish to prohibit the murder of babies in your cities indefinitely?”
In West Texas, the players in the abortion industry are different, but the threat of the expansion of the baby-murdering industry is the same. The biggest threat is Planned Parenthood, which has been vocal about their desire to expand its services across the state. According to a June 27th, 2019 article published on KUT 90.5 - Austin NPR’s website, a Reproductive Rights supporter said that she and others at Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas were concerned about the lack of access to abortion in areas like Abilene, San Angelo, and Odessa. She explained that although it is hard to make the commitment to open a clinic in Texas, they do want to restore services in that part of the state.
Currently, several Planned Parenthood billboards have been erected throughout West Texas in cities such as Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and San Angelo. While these cities are some of the largest and most prominent cities in West Texas, size does not seem to matter. One Planned Parenthood billboard is placed right outside the small city of Tye (population 1,242). This demonstrates that no city is safe from an organization with a history of murdering the smallest and most vulnerable among us.
On November 26th, the ACLU sent a letter to the Mayor and City Council of Big Spring urging them to “forgo consideration of” the proposed ordinance. According to the ACLU, the passing of this ordinance would “expose Big Spring to costly legal liability.” While this letter may seem intimidating to some, it is worth noting that these words have not been backed up by the filing of any lawsuits against the seven cities which have already passed ordinances outlawing abortion. The ACLU has released a webinar, made a toolkit, and launched a section of their website to inform the public how to stop local abortion bans—but so far no lawsuit has been filed against any of the seven cities.
Debbie Stone (Personal Abortion Testimony)
On December 10th, the Big Spring City Council heard from those for and against the city passing an enforceable ordinance outlawing abortion. Among those who spoke in favor of the ordinance were a general surgeon at a local hospital, a registered nurse, a grandmother who had an abortion earlier in her life, a rape victim, lawyers, pastors—residents of every background imaginable.
Chance Nichols, a Pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in Big Spring urged councilmembers to pass the ordinance saying:
“Your vote tonight is about one thing and one thing alone. Will you or will you not allow for babies to be murdered here? The opposition to this ordinance will demand that you separate your beliefs from your vote…. Your vote you cast is significant. How significant? This vote, whether you like it or not, will be your legacy as elected officials in Big Spring Texas. Your vote will reveal who runs our city—The elected officials or the ACLU. Tonight is your testing point.”
Opposition to the ordinance turned out as well, with individuals giving their own case as to why the city of Big Spring should not outlaw abortion and become the next sanctuary city for the unborn. The City of Big Spring voted 5-2 to table the decision until January 14th, 2020.
After news broke about the tabling of the vote, Planned Parenthood stated in a Facebook post that they will not let cities like Big Spring outlaw abortion.
On the same night, the City Council of Colorado City, Texas announced that they would vote on their version of the ordinance next month on January 14th, 2020.
The battle for the right to life is far from over in Texas. If you are one of the many residents who want to see abortion outlawed in their city be sure to visit the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website at www.sanctuarycitiesfortheunborn.com and fill out the online petition. All of our cities must stand strong and support one another as we seek to pass constitutional ordinances prohibiting the expansion of the baby-killing industry into our cities. Visit our Sanctuary for the Unborn page for more CRIT-LARGE coverage of the fight to make Texas a sanctuary state for the unborn.