On Monday morning, citizens across Roosevelt County (pop. 19,019) arrived at their county courthouse in Portales, New Mexico, to see what their county commission would do concerning a “sanctuary for the unborn” ordinance which was placed before them. The county commission voted 3-1 in support of introducing the “Ordinance Requiring Abortion Providers in Roosevelt County to Comply With Federal Law.” The three commissioners voting in favor of the ordinance were Rodney Savage, Shane Lee, and Paul Grider. Commissioner Dennis Lopez was the only commissioner to vote against the measure while Commissioner Tina Dixon was absent due to an illness in her family. The final vote on the ordinance will take place on January 10, 2023.
The ordinance requires everyone under jurisdiction of the county to follow federal laws on abortion – specifically 18 U.S.C. § 1461 and 1462. The ordinance states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1461 by using the mails for the mailing, carriage in the mails, or delivery of: any article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion; or any article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.”
The ordinance continues, “It shall be unlawful for any person to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1462 by: using any express company or other common carrier or interactive computer service for carriage in interstate or foreign commerce of any drug, medicine, article, or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion” as well as “Knowingly taking or receiving, from such express company or other common carrier or interactive computer service, any matter or thing described.” Roosevelt County’s ordinance also prohibits any person from engaging in conduct which aids or abets any of these acts.
The Roosevelt County ordinance is enforced through lawsuits by private citizens. The ordinance reads, “Any person, other than the state, its political subdivisions, including Roosevelt County, and any officer or employee or agent of a state or local governmental entity in this state, has standing to bring and may bring a civil action against any person or entity” in violation of these acts.
If passed, this ordinance would make the unincorporated communities of Cameo, Kenna, Milnesand, Pep, and Rogers “sanctuaries for the unborn.” The ordinance will not apply to the incorporated cities within Roosevelt County. The cities of Portales (pop. 12,042), Elida (pop. 158), Causey (pop. 68), Dora (pop. 116), and Floyd (pop. 85) will have to pass their own individual ordinances if they wish for their communities to be under the same protections.
Roosevelt County resident Logan Brown, who was present for the meeting, shared, “I’m very satisfied that our county commissioners introduced the ordinance. The residents of Roosevelt county are extremely pro-life and anti-abortion. The commissioners are representing their constituents and obeying their God-given role as civil magistrates.”
In addition, on Thursday, December 8, the Lea County Commission will be voting on an ordinance which they introduced for publication at their November 3 meeting. If the ordinances passes, Lea County will become the first county in the United States to pass an ordinance prohibiting the mailing or receiving of abortion-inducing drugs and abortion paraphernalia within their jurisdiction.
If passed, this ordinance would make the census designated places of Monument, Nadine, and North Hobbs, as well as the unincorporated communities of Bennett, Caprock, Crossroads, Knowles, Maljamar, and McDonald, “sanctuaries for the unborn.”
The Lea County ordinance would also not apply to the incorporated cities within Lea County – such as the cities of Hobbs (pop. 41,604), Lovington (11,851), Eunice (3,087), Jal (2,264), and Tatum (773). If cities want to make sure their cities have the same protections provided by the Lea County ordinance then they must do as the city of Hobbs did and pass their own individual ordinances.
Since Whole Woman’s Health has closed its abortion facilities in Fort Worth, McKinney, Austin, and McAllen and is heading northwest into New Mexico, city and county governments throughout the region have been discussing the possibility of passing “sanctuary city for the unborn” and “sanctuary county for the unborn” ordinances.
