Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the guest author.
On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, the City of Rolla, Missouri (pop. 19,943) considered a Sanctuary City for the Unborn (SCFTU) ordinance requiring compliance with federal abortion laws. After several months of having discussed the measure, the “pro-life” city council rejected addressing the measure in a 6-5 vote. Council members Megan Johnson, Matt Fridley, William Hahn II, Robert Kessinger, Kevin Greven, and Tina Balch voted against addressing the pro-life ordinance, while council members Mattias Penner, Josh Vroman, Nathan Chirban, Steve Jackson, and Victoria Steen voted for addressing the pro-life ordinance.
If passed, the Rolla SCFTU Ordinance would have required compliance with federal abortion laws found in 18 U.S.C. §§ 1461–62, prohibiting the shipping or receiving of abortion-inducing drugs or abortion-related paraphernalia, and in 18 U.S.C. § 1531, prohibiting the performing or the aiding or abetting of a partial-birth abortion. The ordinance would have had a private enforcement mechanism allowing private citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone who violated the ordinance.
Since the ordinance was introduced on November 18, 2024, the measure has seen both support and opposition both locally and across the state.
Supporting the ordinance were people like Joe Dalton, co-founder and CEO of Rolla Pregnancy Resource Center; Timothy Faber, legislative liaison with the Missouri Baptist Convention; Kathy Forck, co-founder of the Midwest March for Life in Jefferson City; and Brian Westbrook, founder and executive director of Coalition Life. Many shared before the Rolla City Council about the dangers of abortion pill trafficking. Joe Dalton shared, “These pills are coming into Rolla right now. So now you go to the internet and order them. No consultation, no nothing, and they show up here. That’s a problem. That’s scary to me.”
Opposing the ordinance were people like Dr. Jenny Pennycook, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Phelps Health; Hailey Kramer, a family nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood Rolla Health Center; Tori Shafer, Director of Policy and Campaigns for the ACLU of Missouri; and Jeff Howell, executive VP of the Missouri State Medical Association. Several argued that because the majority of Rolla residents voted for Amendment 3, the city council should respect their decision and reject the ordinance. During the November election, a very slight majority of 51.08% (2,126) of voters in Rolla voted for Amendment 3, with 48.92% (2,036) voting against Amendment 3 — a difference of just 90 votes.
Planned Parenthood of Rolla, Missouri (Photo: Mark Lee Dickson)
When the SCFTU Ordinance was first brought to the city council, some council members were unsure they even had the ability to pass such a measure. On December 16, 2024, that issue was clarified when Missouri Assistant Attorney General Dominic Barceleau shared before the Rolla City Council, “The Attorney General’s position is that state law does not prohibit cities from regulating abortion in a way that is consistent with state and federal law.”
Council Support for the Ordinance
Arguing for the passage of the ordinance, on January 21, 2025, Councilman Joshua Vroman shared before the Rolla City Council they had been “delegated the power to preserve the safety, health, peace, good order, comfort, convenience, morals, and welfare of all inhabitants within the City of Rolla” and this ordinance ensuring that these federal prohibitions were obeyed was good for everyone in the City of Rolla – born and unborn. Vroman was clear that the “right to abortion” established by the recently-passed Amendment 3 could not override federal pro-life laws, but must work within the confines of those federal pro-life laws.
Vroman also argued the ordinance “reinforces Rolla’s leadership role” and was consistent with “Rolla’s history of aligning local ordinances with federal standards” stating, “If Rolla can adopt ordinances that align with federal statutes like the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), federal statutes on firearms, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) we can absolutely adopt an ordinance that aligns with 18 U.S.C. §§ 1461-62 that prohibits the shipping or receiving of abortion pills or abortion-related paraphernalia or 18 U.S.C. § 1531 which is the partial-birth abortion ban.”
On creating a private right of action, Vroman explained:
Because this is an ordinance introduced by the City of Rolla under the authority granted to us from chapter 77 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, we have the implied authority to choose how to enforce this ordinance. We are choosing to empower citizens through a private enforcement mechanism, rather than relying on government enforcement. This allows citizens to directly address violations of the ordinance without burdening city resources.
Similar approaches have been successful and upheld in other jurisdictions. By using this mechanism, which strictly prohibits city officials from enforcing the ordinance, Rolla avoids exposure to lawsuits or claims under Amendment 3 or Constitutional challenges.
Vroman also went out of his way to state, “nothing in this proposed ordinance will change anything about the standard of care currently being provided by healthcare professionals in Labor and Delivery in Rolla, Missouri. You can read sections 43.001 and 43.004 and see that it gives exemptions for ectopic pregnancy, miscarriages, birth control, fertility treatments, Plan B, and to save the life of the mother or preserve the life or health of her unborn child.”
Council Opposition to the Ordinance
Despite the clear presentation by Councilman Vroman, some members of city council appeared to have already made up their minds.
Councilman Matt Fridley, who complained at a January 6, 2025, council meeting that talk of the ordinance was creating negative press and problems which may make individuals not want to live in the community, maintained his position against the ordinance. Councilman Fridley further complained the ordinance put the city council in a position where each one of them had to look at their “own faith” and “the law” — which, for him, was a dichotomy that created “all kinds of controversy” in his character and himself. For these reasons, he argued that the “smart thing to do” was to table the ordinance and remove it indefinitely.
Agreeing with Fridley’s remarks, Councilman William Hahn II seconded his motion.
Councilwoman Tina Balch, who also claimed to be pro-life, was quick to express her opposition to the measure. Balch questioned why the city council would want to create more confusion about abortion-inducing drugs when they are used for other medical purposes and stood behind a local healthcare provider in the community who had lamented over the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Next to weigh in on the measure was Councilwoman Megan Johnson, who shared she was extremely pro-life and worked hard to educate people in her community about the dangers of Amendment 3. Johnson said she wanted to “protect life at any cost” but after a lot of “extensive research” she determined the ordinance gave “false hope” to pro-life individuals because it lacked “practical enforcement.”
Councilwoman Megan Johnson argues against the passage of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Ordinance. (Photo: Mark Lee Dickson)
Johnson stated, “I think that, you know, there is not a way to enforce it. Seventy cities and eight counties and there has not been one citizen action. There really is no enforcement behind it.” Despite saying she had done extensive research, Johnson made no mention of how the use of the private enforcement mechanism stopped abortions in Lubbock with a SCFTU Ordinance and across the entire State of Texas with the Texas Heartbeat Act at a time when Roe v. Wade was still on the books.
Turning to the founder of the SCFTU Initiative, seated in the audience, Johnson then accused, “It bothers me, as someone who is pro-life, that comes into my community and gives false hope. That bothers me. That runs right through me because I love this community and I love the citizens in it and I will bend over backwards for them. And so it bothers me, all of us who have been kicked in the stomach with Amendment 3, and then to bring false hope to us? That breaks my heart.”
In a meeting prior to the January 21 council meeting, Johnson admitted two concerns: the private enforcement mechanism and the fact that the majority of those in her ward voted for Amendment 3. In Ward 2, 55.79% (342) voted for Amendment 3, while only 44.21% (271) voted against the measure. Being up for re-election in April was of great concern to Johnson.
Explaining why he opposed the ordinance, Councilman Robert Kessinger stated, “I think that this is a really tough situation that we are in right now. I feel like I would do anything for the pro-life movement that was productive, but I don’t feel like this is productive. I think that passing this ordinance would be a sugar high. We would feel great and high-five each other and hug and have a great time and the reality is we would sit down and have a sugar crash.”
Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem Kevin Greven also wanted the City of Rolla to be out of the discussion, stating, “This is not something that the city of Rolla needs to be taking on. I think it’s got some good points, and it’s got some good merits, and it’s not something we can handle from this side. This seems to be at the state level. This seems to be at the federal level. So this needs to be on their plate, not ours.”
The Council Takes Sides
In the end, a majority of the Rolla City Council did exactly what the ACLU of Missouri had advised them to do.
In a letter sent January 3, 2025, ACLU Director Tori Shafer, who was also one of the driving forces behind Amendment 3, strongly recommended “that the City Council decline to act on this proposal and reject the ordinance in its entirety.”
That is exactly what self-proclaimed “pro-life” Councilman Matt Fridley and five other members of the Rolla City Council did.
Despite the loss, pro-life residents in Rolla and in cities across Missouri are not giving up on the desire to see their city go as far as they possibly can to protect pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the horrors of the abortion. Missouri residents who wish to see their city take action are encouraged to sign the SCFTU online petition.
Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:
Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!
