Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the guest author.
On Tuesday, the Commissioners’ Court of Shackelford County, Texas, passed an ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking within the unincorporated area of Shackelford County. It was passed in a unanimous 4-0 vote by County Commissioners Steve Riley, Ace Reames, Lanham Martin, and Cody Jordan, with County Judge John Viertel presiding over the meeting. The passage made Shackelford County the seventh county in Texas to outlaw abortion trafficking — following Mitchell, Goliad, Cochran, Lubbock, Dawson, and Jack counties — and the 80th political subdivision to outlaw abortion in the United States.
The meeting was held at the Shackelford County Law Enforcement Center conference room due to a previously scheduled trial taking place at the county courthouse. Residents from throughout the county were supportive of the measure. On the day before the vote, Albany resident and Christian author McKade Marshall said:
Life begins the moment the sperm meets the egg. That’s when life begins. That’s when a sacred human being begins to form and be knit into the image of the Living God. Abortion is murder… To abort an innocent, defenseless child not only robs that child of a life, it robs the mother, the father, the grandparents, the siblings, and the whole world of a beautiful human soul.
… Taking action to inform people of the devastating consequences of abortion and taking legal action to put an end to this heinous medical procedure should be at the top of everyone’s priority list.
Albany resident Randy Walker shared:
I think we need to try to do everything we can to protect the young in Shackelford County. Whether we see the evil happening somewhere else or happening around here, it is still our problem. If we don’t do something to try to stop it, to try to make it not occur, then we are complicit in that evil….
Walker’s wife, Ellamae, encouraged County leadership to pass the ordinance and educated those in attendance about the documentary, “Maafa 21: Black Genocide in 21st Century America.”
Shackelford County Judge and Commissioners voted 4-0 to pass the Sanctuary County for the Unborn ordinance. (Photo: Mark Lee Dickson)
In addition to prohibiting elective abortions and the aiding or abetting of elective abortions within the unincorporated area of Shackelford County, the ordinance also prohibits the performing of an elective abortion and the aiding or abetting of an elective abortion on a resident of the unincorporated area of Shackelford County “regardless of the location of the abortion, regardless of the law in the jurisdiction where the abortion occurred, and regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion was performed or induced on a resident of the unincorporated area of Shackelford County.”
The ordinance also prohibits abortion-inducing drugs within the unincorporated area of Shackelford County, prohibits Texas waste management companies from transporting and disposing of aborted fetal remains from any out-of-state abortion provider within the unincorporated area of Shackelford County, prohibits criminal abortion organizations from operating within the unincorporated area of Shackelford County, and prohibits abortion trafficking by making it unlawful “for any person to knowingly transport any individual for the purpose of providing or obtaining an elective abortion, regardless of where the elective abortion will occur” as long as such activity “begins, ends, or passes through the unincorporated area of Shackelford County.”
The ordinance makes it illegal to use the sections of U.S. Highway 180, U.S. Highway 283, State Highway 6, State Highway 351, and all sections of all other roads found in the unincorporated area of Shackelford County for the purpose of abortion trafficking. This prohibits those who live within Shackelford County from driving people out of the county for the purpose of obtaining an elective abortion in another state, as such actions would be considered abortion trafficking. This also means that those who transport pregnant mothers from other parts of Texas to obtain an elective abortion in a state like Kansas cannot legally pass through Shackelford County, as those actions would also be considered abortion trafficking.
The ordinance also educates about the Thriving Texas Families Program and directs people to the Texas Pregnancy Care Network website for resources available to women experiencing unexpected pregnancies. The area is serviced by The Open Door Pregnancy & Family Resource Center, which has a mobile ultrasound unit that frequents Albany (pop. 2,043), along with centers in Cisco (pop. 4,006) and Breckenridge (pop. 5,868).
Shackelford County’s Ordinance is enforced through the same private right of action found in the Texas Heartbeat Act and 60 other local ordinances throughout the State of Texas, which allows private citizens to file a lawsuit against those found in violation of the ordinance. It does not allow for a lawsuit against the mother of the unborn child, but only against those assisting in the killing of her child when they cross the unincorporated area of Shackelford County.
The three incorporated cities of Shackelford County that are not covered by the county ordinance are Albany (pop. 2,043), Moran (pop. 285), and Lueders (pop. 346). Each one of these cities could pass the ordinance at a future date to make sure that their city is covered with the same protections provided by the county ordinance.
Weighing in on the ordinance’s passage, Shackelford County Republican Chair Rodney Casey shared, “We are blessed to have fine county commissioners who voted to make Shackelford County a Sanctuary County for the Unborn! I expect Shackelford County to be blessed as a result of their choice.”
The effort to see Texas political subdivisions outlaw abortion trafficking is supported by lawmakers across Texas. The Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn initiative has now seen a total of 71 cities and 9 counties pass ordinances in 7 different states — all seeking to do as much as possible to prohibit abortion within their jurisdictions.
Texas residents who wish to see their county or city pass a similar ordinance are encouraged to sign the online petition on the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website.
