East Mountain became the 14th Texas city to declare itself a “Sanctuary for the Unborn” on Monday, joining a growing effort to protect unborn babies from abortions across the state.
KETK reports the city council voted to approve the pro-life ordinance Monday for its city, population 797. The vote was three in favor, two abstentions.
“Because the City of East Mountain passed this ordinance abortion is now prohibited by city law in East Mountain, Texas!” said Mark Lee Dickson, the director of East Texas Right to Life and leader of the Sanctuary for the Unborn effort.
He thanked local church leaders and residents who encouraged the city to pass the ordinance.
“May all of our churches and all of the residents of our cities do their part and call upon their leaders to pass good laws that protect the citizens and culture of their communities! As it says in Amos 5:15, may we all ‘Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the city gate,’” Dickson said.
The “Sanctuary for the Unborn” 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 abortionists for aborting unborn babies, but it does not penalize women who seek or have abortions.
The ordinance states: “… the Supreme Court erred in Roe v. Wade, when it said that pregnant women have a constitutional right to abort their unborn children, as there is no language anywhere in the Constitution that even remotely suggests that abortion is a constitutional right . . . constitutional scholars have excoriated Roe v. Wade for its lack of reasoning and its decision to concoct a constitutional right to abortion that has no textual foundation in the Constitution or any source of law.”
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The city of Whiteface, Texas became the 13th city to pass a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance in March, following Wells, Big Spring, Rusk, Waskom, Naples, Joaquin, Tenaha, Gilmer and Westbrook. Omaha also passed an ordinance but later retracted it and passed a non-enforceable resolution instead.
Abortion activists have tried to stop the growing effort, but, in May, the American Civil Liberties Union dropped a lawsuit challenging seven of the cities’ ordinances in a huge victory for pro-lifers.
The ordinances are particularly important because Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in the nation, confirmed that it is looking to expand in West Texas, Texas Right to Life told LifeNews.com.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas received an anonymous donation of $9 million in 2019 for the purpose of building two West Texas abortion facilities. Also, Planned Parenthood currently has a billboard campaign in Abilene, San Angelo, and other neighboring cities.
A growing number of towns and cities have passed ordinances and resolutions to protect the unborn. An ordinance is a municipal government law or regulation. A resolution is a statement of support or opposition, but it is not legally enforceable.
In 2019, Roswell, New Mexico city leaders passed a pro-life resolution after state lawmakers considered a radical pro-abortion bill to expand late-term abortions. The bill narrowly failed to pass.
In New York state, Batavia city leaders and Putnam County legislators also passed resolutions condemning a radical new pro-abortion law in their state and supporting protections for the unborn.
Also in 2019, the Riverton City Council in Utah passed a similar resolution, declaring the city a “sanctuary for the unborn.” The Utah County Commission unanimously voted in favor of a resolution supporting protections for unborn babies. The council in Highland, Utah and the city of Springdale, Arkansas also approved pro-life resolutions last summer.
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Author: Micaiah Bilger
