NO TO “ABORTION TRAFFICKING”: Lubbock County Commissioners Court approves anti-abortion transport ban

The Lubbock County Commissioners Court has approved a new law that effectively bans transporting women along their roads for an abortion.

Anti-abortion activists Mark Lee Dickson and lawyer Jonathan Mitchell designed this newly adopted ordinance as a broader initiative to prevent “abortion trafficking.” Before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Dickson led a campaign to convince cities in Texas and across the country to declare themselves as “sanctuary cities for the unborn.” Mitchell, on the other hand, crafted the 2021 six-week abortion ban in Texas.

This anti-abortion transport ban, which is in effect immediately, allows citizens to sue anyone who aids a woman in getting an abortion in Lubbock County or if they pass through Lubbock County for the same purpose. However, the ordinance does not apply to pregnant women seeking abortions themselves but rather to anyone providing assistance. (Related: Susan Swift condemns woke narrative that abortion is “healthcare” and “necessary to save women.”)

The measure passed by a 3-0 vote, with two commissioners abstaining from voting. Commissioner Terence Kovar, Jason Corley and Jordan Rackler voted in favor, while County Judge Curtis Parrish and Commissioner Gilbert Flores abstained.

Neal Burt, chief of the civil division of the Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office, requested more time to review and amend the ordinance. But the motion to postpone the vote until March failed by a 3-2 vote.

“I long for the day, coast to coast, that abortion is considered a great moral, social and political wrong and that it is outlawed in every single state. This ordinance fully supports the belief that unborn children are human beings and that they deserve the right to life,” Dickson said.

Commissioners still call for an amendment to anti-abortion transport ban

Proponents argue that the anti-abortion transport ban is intended to strengthen the existing abortion ban in Texas. “Every day we see cars pulling into the abortion clinic, most often women with Texas license plates,” stated Jewel Navarrette of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

However, not all advocates of abortion restrictions support the anti-abortion transport ban. For instance, Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley said the bans rely on civil enforcement and do not clarify the roles of local authorities, potentially entangling the city in investigations initiated by private individuals.

Dickson likened the banning of abortion to the post-Civil War emancipation of slaves in the U.S., while Flores and Parrish voiced concerns about the county’s role in regulating it.

Flores, who is Hispanic, said: “What’s in front of me right now is, do I have the right, do I have the power, do I want the authority to tell women what to do, to violate their rights?”

Parrish supported the ordinance but also pointed out that it needed to be amended to acknowledge the limited legislative power of the county.

“The issue isn’t whether we should stand up for the rights of the unborn or the safety of the pregnant mother, but how do we make this ordinance stand up to the scrutiny of state and federal appellate courts? This does not mean that we are not a pro-life county. But we shouldn’t need a piece of paper that says you can’t drive on our roads to be known as a pro-life county,” he argued.

Check out Abortions.news for more stories related to the murder of the unborn.

NO TO “ABORTION TRAFFICKING”: Lubbock County Commissioners Court approves anti-abortion transport ban

Commissioners still call for an amendment to anti-abortion transport ban

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