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On Good Friday, April 18, 2025, the city of Lueders (pop. 346), Texas, became the 73rd city in the nation to pass an ordinance outlawing abortion and declaring itself a Sanctuary City for the Unborn (SCFTU). The ordinance was passed in a unanimous 5-0 vote. The city of Lueders is the third city in Jones County and the second city in Shackelford County to pass a SCFTU ordinance.
After the vote, Jones County Republican Chair David D. Andrews shared:
There is still hope for humanity in our world when a sleepy little town in West Texas takes a stand on abortion. Congratulations to those civic leaders in Lueders, Texas, in Jones County for standing up and supporting the moral majority to designate the city as a Sanctuary City against the abortion of God’s precious children in the womb! God bless our nation and God bless Texas!
Shackelford County Republican Chair Rodney Casey, who was in attendance at the meeting, shared:
Lueders, well known for their limestone shipped around the world and for their Big Country Baptist Assembly — which is one of the oldest Christian camps in the world, became the 73rd sanctuary city for the unborn in the nation! Congratulations to Lueders! Hallelujah!
The vote by the City Council in Lueders came just three days after Shackelford County and Moran passed Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinances. While the entire city of Moran and part of Lueders are in Shackelford County, the Shackelford County ordinance only covers the unincorporated area of the county – leaving the incorporated cities responsible for passing their own ordinances.
Lueders City Council votes to make Lueders a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. (Photo: Mark Lee Dickson)
The six provisions of the Lueders SCFTU Ordinance are as follows: (1) prohibit performing an elective abortion and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits of Lueders, (2) prohibit elective abortions on residents of Lueders – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) prohibit abortion trafficking through the City of Lueders, (4) prohibit the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into the City of Lueders, (5) prohibit criminal abortion organizations from doing business inside the city limits, and (6) prohibit through or in the City of Lueders the transportation and disposal of the remains of unborn children who have been killed by an elective abortion across state lines and carried into Texas by waste management companies.
The Lueders SCFTU Ordinance is enforced the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforced — through a private right of action. The ordinance reads, “Any person, other than the city of Lueders, and any officer or employee of the city, has standing to bring and may bring a civil action against any person or entity that: violates any provision” of this ordinance.
READ: New York official enforces ‘shield law’ to protect abortionist who broke Texas law
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 Anson (pop. 2,347) and Albany (pop. 2,043), along with centers in both Cisco (pop. 4,006) and Breckenridge (pop. 5,868).
The Lueders SCFTU ordinance has a six-year statute of limitations and is clear that “a civil action … may not be brought against the woman upon whom the abortion was performed or induced or attempted to be performed or induced in violation of this ordinance, or against a pregnant woman who intends or seeks to abort her unborn child in violation of this ordinance.”
On Thursday, a group of volunteers from across West Texas met up at the Big Country Baptist Assembly in Lueders to make baby blankets to give to pregnancy centers across the State of Texas. (Photo: Mark Lee Dickson)
While no litigation against the city is expected over the passage of the ordinance, the City of Lueders received a preemptive letter from Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, with the former Solicitor General of Texas offering to represent the City of Lueders at no cost to the city or taxpayers for any litigation that may arise from the passage of their ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking.
Lueders is the 30th Texas city to outlaw abortion since Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against the City of Lubbock was dismissed in Federal Court in 2021, and the 43rd Texas city to outlaw abortion since the ACLU withdrew its lawsuit against seven cities in East Texas in 2020.
Lueders will not be the last “sanctuary for the unborn.” Several cities and counties across the state are considering passing such measures to address the tragedy of abortion. Texas residents interested in seeing their local government pass an ordinance seeking to further outlaw abortion are encouraged to sign the online petition from the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.
