Small Texas City Makes Controversial Abortion Move

The small city of Waskom, Texas, has no abortion clinics, and the town council wants to make sure it stays that way. The five-member all-male panel unanimously approved an ordinance this week declaring Waskom to be a "sanctuary city for the unborn," reports East Texas Matters. The move, which outlaws abortions within the city limits, is believed to make Waskom the first city in Texas to make such a declaration. Waskom has a population of about 2,200 and sits on the border with Louisiana, notes the Washington Post. City officials say they worried that Louisiana's strict new abortion law might prompt a clinic to move across the border, and they wanted to ward that off.

"The Supreme Court erred in Roe v. Wade when it said that pregnant women have a constitutional right to abort their pre-born children," the ordinance reads, per Fox News. Mayor Jesse Moore warned before the vote that Waskom itself might find itself before the Supreme Court because of the measure. "Most likely we will wind up getting sued if this is passed," he said. Alderman Jimmy Dale Moore added that the city doesn't have the resources for such a fight, though he joined the unanimous vote. The city's own attorney warned that the measure appears to be unconstitutional, reports KTSA. (On the opposite end of the spectrum, Maine just made it easier for abortions to be performed.)