Another city council in West Texas has voted to outlaw abortion within their city limits.

The December 1st vote, which took place at a café in the City of Ackerly, was unanimous. In taking this action, the City of Ackerly has now become the smallest city to outlaw abortion. The population of Ackerly is 251. Prior to Ackerly passing the enforceable ordinance, the City of Gary, with a population of 311, was the smallest city to have passed the ordinance.

Ackerly Mayor Scott Ragle, in explaining the reasoning for the action, told OneNewsNow, “We thought, ‘Well, we’re a small town. We don’t want to be the place where people could go for abortions,’ because it definitely goes against core values that most people in our community have.” Ragle continued, “So it was just being proactive to make sure that somebody couldn’t come in and create a business like that in our community.” 

Leading the charge in presenting the ordinance to the Ackerly City Council was Right to Life East Texas Director Mark Lee Dickson, who gave a statement to CRIT-LARGE stating: “The City Council of Ackerly, Texas, made a God-honoring decision that unborn children would not be murdered in their city. If the abortion industry attempts to kill any unborn child in Ackerly, because of this ordinance, there will be both immediate and future consequences for any blood that is shed!”

The Ackerly Ordinance states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to procure or perform an abortion of any type and at any stage of pregnancy in the City of Ackerly, Texas,” and, “It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly aid or abet an abortion that occurs in the City of Ackerly.” The ordinance defines abortion as, “the act of using or prescribing an instrument, a drug, a medicine, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to cause the death of an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant.”

While some attorneys have challenged the legality of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances in other cities, Dickson argues, “Attorneys who believe the right to abortion is found in the Constitution will always have a problem with these ordinances. I think many attorneys need to go back and read the Constitution. The right to abortion is not in there.” Dickson went on to say,

“Many have responded negatively to Ackerly passing this ordinance and have cited Roe v. Wade as the end all answer to their claims. The problem with this, however, is that many do not understand that these ordinances do not go against Roe v. Wade and the decisions which have been made in the Supreme Court since Roe v. Wade. People are living under the assumption that cases like Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey say that abortion has to be allowed everywhere and that is just not true. Nothing, in either case, said that an abortion clinic or abortion services had to be allowed in every city in the United States. The city of Ackerly and every other city which has passed this ordinance have been fully within their rights - the same rights which allow them to ban other things in their city; things like the sale of alcohol or the use of engine brakes on big trucks.”

Furthermore, Dickson argues, the ordinance lines up with the pre-Roe statutes, which have never been repealed: “Is it wrong for us to have laws in our city that mimic the laws that are on the books here in the State of Texas? If Texas has laws on the books that outlaw abortion, there is no reason why our cities cannot restate these laws within our own city’s laws.”

When the issue is examined further, we see that Texas statutes that criminalize abortion and impose criminal liability on anyone who aids and abets abortions were not repealed by Roe v. Wade. In fact, 2A Texas Penal Code article 1192, at 433 (1961) imposes criminal liability on anyone who “furnishes the means for procuring an abortion knowing the purpose intended.” Texas statutes like 1192 were not repealed by the Texas legislature in response to Roe v. Wade and, therefore, continue to exist as the law of Texas.

Even though the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn ordinances voice disagreement with Supreme Court decisions like Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the ordinances are legal and constitutional within a post-Roe framework. The local government codes in cities like Ackerly make clear statements that promote their legality. Those codes state, “The municipality may adopt an ordinance, act, law, or regulation, not inconsistent with state law, that is necessary for the government, interest, welfare, or good order of the municipality as a body politic.” These ordinances, as it is understood, are in no way, shape, or form inconsistent with state law. 

Jim Baxa, President of West Texas For Life, shared with CRIT-LARGE, “I am excited that Ackerly has joined other West Texas cities in banning abortion. It is great to know that babies are safe while in Ackerly, Texas. I call on every city to follow their lead.” 

Dickson is hopeful more cities will consider the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn ordinance in the months to come. “I never know which city will vote next, a lot can happen in 72 hours,” said Dickson. “What I do know is that there are more than 17 cities in Texas which would be willing to outlaw abortion. We will all just have to wait and see which one will be next.”

Two cities Dickson mentioned to CRIT-LARGE as cities where we may see abortion outlawed in the future were the cities of Odessa, Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas - two cities over 530 miles apart.

The possibility of Odessa becoming a Sanctuary City for the Unborn may hinge greatly on the results of a special December 15th run-off election. Javier Joven, a former councilman for the City of Odessa, is in the run-off against current councilman Dewey Bryant to become the next Mayor of Odessa. If elected, Joven says he intends to “designate the city of Odessa a sanctuary city for the unborn.” At the time of this writing Bryant had not publicly said if he would support the passing of an ordinance outlawing abortion in the City of Odessa.

In May 2021, an ordinance outlawing abortion within the city limits of Lubbock, Texas will be on the ballot for residents of the city of Lubbock to accept or reject. 

For more information about the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative visit www.sanctuarycitiesfortheunborn.com.