Pro-Life citizens, activists, and pastors testified before the city council of Abilene, asking them to move forward with an ordinance to declare their city a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. Although the Abilene City Council did not take a formal vote, Thursday’s meeting and testimony is a crucial step in making Abilene the next and largest city to enact the ordinance. After the testimony, Mayor Anthony Williams closed by assuring the public that the issue will not be shelved and that the city council will “have a conversation in a public way.”
Ultimately, to become a Sanctuary City for the Unborn, the city council must formally address and vote on the ordinance in two future meetings. Thursday presented the occasion for citizens in Abilene to make the legal and ethical arguments for the Pro-Life ordinance, in which they urged the city council to act for the defenseless. Before the meeting, more than 100 Abilene Pro-Life Citizens held a prayer walk and rally outside the city hall.
Texas Right to Life Legislative Director John Seago attended the meeting to defend the legal merits of passing the ordinance. He noted that pre-Roe v. Wade Pro-Life laws in Texas are still active and enforceable and that the Supreme Court of the United States only invalidates applications of laws. And the abortion industry has not filed a lawsuit against any Pro-Life sanctuary city ordinance to date. Therefore, the Abilene City Council has the legal and moral authority to pass the ordinance and make Abilene a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.
The timing of this Abilene City Council meeting is particularly suitable given that the abortion industry has named West Texas as their next target. In 2018, an anonymous donation of $9 million was given to Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas with the explicit goal of building two West Texas clinics. At the end of last year, Planned Parenthood doubled down on this effort by placing billboards across West Texas, including three advertisements in Abilene alone. Planned Parenthood has already re-opened a clinic in El Paso. Although the abortion giant has not stated the location of the second clinic, Abilene is a prime target as the site of a former abortion clinic and as the home to seven colleges and universities. Students from the Pro-Life group at Abilene Christian University, ACU for Life, attended the meeting and registered their support for the ordinance.
The City of Abilene must act to protect themselves from abortion providers moving into their communities. With Planned Parenthood’s deceptive history of secretly constructing clinics that open to the surprise of the local community, any delay may allow the abortion giant to again establish an abortion facility within city limits.
Texas Right to Life applauds these brave citizens for testifying in bold defense for preborn Life. We must join these citizens and urge the city council to take the necessary votes to make Abilene a Sanctuary City for the Unborn as soon as possible. Citizens who want to make their own town a Sanctuary City for the Unborn can contact Texas Right to Life.