This year, Texas passed groundbreaking Pro-Life protections at the state-level. At the same time, communities across Texas are passing an enforceable ordinance banning abortion to make their city or town a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. The three most recent cities to stand for Life are Crawford, Leona, and Brownsboro, Texas.
On August 9, the City Council of Leona, Texas, (population 175) passed an enforceable ordinance banning abortion with a vote of 6-0. Mark Lee Dickson, the Director of Right to Life East Texas who has spearheaded the Sanctuary City for the Unborn movement in Texas, reports that the ordinance was discussed at a meeting last month. The city council then took up the matter at the beginning of the meeting on August 9, and no citizens present spoke against the unanimously approved Pro-Life measure.
Mark Gray, the Vice Mayor of the City of Leona, stated, “As a member of the City’s Council, it is a great privilege to be a part of such an important movement to save the lives of the unborn.” Dickson noted that Gray also serves as the pastor of Life Church in Leona. In his role as a spiritual leader he called on neighboring cities in the county to join Leona in standing for Life. Gray said, “First Centerville, now Leona and prayerfully the other municipalities in our great Leon County. I call on and ask the other councils in our community to take up this great need.”
Following Leona, on August 10, the city of Crawford also passed an enforceable ordinance banning abortion. Crawford, with a population of 733, is known for the Prairie Chapel Ranch of former President George W. Bush and his family.
According to Dickson, who was present for the vote, Crawford Councilwoman Cindy Vannatta said, “Crawford is honored to stand up for the unborn to make sure that no babies are killed in our city limits by abortion.”
Just as the passage of a Pro-Life ordinance in Leona has put pressure on other cities in Leon County to pass Pro-Life protections, so the passage in Crawford has brought encouragement to Waco and surrounding towns to also pass a ban on abortions. Crawford, located just 20 miles west of Waco, is an important step to bringing the Pro-Life measure to another big city in Texas.
On August 17, the East Texas town of Brownsboro passed the policy as well.
Earlier this year, a federal court dismissed Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against the City of Lubbock for passing an ordinance banning abortion. Crawford is now the seventh city to become a Sanctuary City for the Unborn since that ruling. The encouragement of seeing the success of the Pro-Life measure in cities across Texas, including a large city like Lubbock, will hopefully encourage Pro-Lifers in cities like Waco to defend Life and ensure that abortion businesses never gain a foothold in their communities.
While Pro-Life champions in the Texas Legislature have passed significant measures to protect Life in Texas, communities throughout the state are also working to ensure that the abortion industry cannot operate in our cities and towns. Pro-Lifers in Texas are making clear that killing the preborn has no place in our state.