Texas City Council Votes To Make Town A 'Sanctuary City Of The Unborn,' Bans Abortion In City Limits

A Texas city has imposed an abortion ban inside its city limits, following a trend of abortion laws that have been introduced across the United States.

The Waskom City Council, a five-person panel made up of men, voted on the ordinance on Tuesday. It passed unanimously.

According to KETK-TV, the ordinance was adopted following the passage of an abortion bill in Louisiana which bans most abortions after six weeks. Louisiana's bill is one of several so-called fetal heartbeat bills, with others passed in Missouri, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama, among others.

Anti-abortion activist Mark Lee Dickson, who runs the group East Texas Right to Life, told KETK that if Louisiana's bill eliminated abortion clinics in the state, concern was that a clinic could open in Waskom.

"We decided to take things into our own hands and that we have got to do something to protect our cities and to protect the unborn children," Dickson told KETK.

Waskom, which has just over 2,200 residents, is situated on the Louisiana border and just 20 miles from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Dickson told Fox News that he presented the idea to the city council, in part over frustration that Texas lawmakers weren't passing any laws to prohibit abortion in the state.

The city ordinance says that Roe vs. Wade and other laws which allow abortion are "unconstitutional usurpations of judicial power, which violate both the Tenth Amendment the Republican Form of Government Clause, and are null and void in the City of Waskom."

The city modeled their ordinance after a similar one which was passed in Roswell, New Mexico in March. The Roswell ordinance states "that innocent human life, including fetal life, must always be protected and that Society must protect those who cannot protect themselves."

Waskom's declaration of being a "sanctuary city for the unborn" also comes from Roswell, who made the same statement when their city council passed the ordinance in a 7-1 vote.

Waskom Mayor Jesse Moore told individuals gathered at the city council meeting that the town is expecting lawsuits as a result of the ordinance, and that the city cannot afford to lose one.
"If we go to the Supreme Court, we'll have to pay the other side of the attorney fees ....y'all save your nickel and pennies. We may need them," Moore said according to ArkLaTexHomepage.

Waskom's ordinance allows exceptions for abortions in cases of rape, incest and medical emergency.