The Lubbock City Council decided to kill the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance in a Tuesday night meeting closed to public input or observation. Pro-Life Lubbockites have urged the council to pass the ordinance since July when Planned Parenthood announced they would return to the West Texas town to commit abortions.
In response to the mayor and city council’s failure, determined citizens filed a petition with over 5,000 signatures calling on the local government to bring the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance to a public vote. According to the Lubbock City Charter, the council must set the ordinance for a public debate and vote within 30 days after being presented with such a petition. If the council passes the policy, Planned Parenthood will be barred from committing abortions in Lubbock. If the council fails, citizens will be able to directly vote on becoming a Sanctuary City for the Unborn in an upcoming election.
Keep abortion out of Lubbock!
Pro-Life Texans know the threat of the abortion industry re-establishing a presence in Lubbock is real. Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in the nation, announced they will open a facility that will commit abortions in Lubbock before the end of the year. Lubbock has been free of the abortion business since 2013.
Despite this imminent threat of Planned Parenthood coming back to Lubbock, in a recent interview, Mayor Dan Pope promised he would vote to kill the Pro-Life city ordinance if given the opportunity. He incorrectly claimed that the ordinance would do nothing more than “draw a lot of attention but would not allow any enforceability” and would be “unconstitutional at both the state and federal level” if city council passed the measure. When pressed about his lack of support for the ordinance in light of his upcoming election, Mayor Pope said that he would “hate” for Lubbock voters to base their decision on his intent to defeat the life-saving ordinance.
The Lubbock City Council’s failure to decisively act in defense of their preborn citizens is inexcusable. However, Texas Right to Life praises the resilience of the people of Lubbock and leaders like West Texas for Life and Senator Charles Perry who are determined to do everything in their power to keep Planned Parenthood from reopening their murderous industry in this community. We look forward to citizens finally having their voices heard when the ordinance is at last set for a public meeting and vote.