The city of Levelland, Texas, voted to become one of the latest municipalities to ban abortion and declared itself a “Sanctuary for the Unborn.”
All four City Council members voted in favor of the ordinance, which states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to procure or perform an abortion of any type and at any stage of pregnancy in the City of Levelland, Texas.”
“It shall be unlawful,“ the ordinance says, ”for any person to knowingly aid or abet an abortion that occurs in the City of Levelland, Texas.”
Councilwoman Mary Engledow said the successful vote marks a “great day” for the city, adding: “We have done something that has been long overdue. Levelland is truly Blessed and by passing ‘Sanctuary City for the Unborn’ we will remain blessed.”
The nearby city of Lubbock approved a similar ordinance on May 1. Planned Parenthood challenged Lubbock’s ordinance in court, which was dismissed by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, who argued that Planned Parenthood lacked jurisdiction.
“In our view, Planned Parenthood has not shown that Lubbock’s ordinance is inconsistent with state law. To the extent that the Court finds state law to be ambiguous regarding the merits of Planned Parenthood’s claims, the Court should abstain from exercising jurisdiction,” Stone wrote.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, meanwhile, noted in a letter that “under Texas law, when a later-enacted statute clarifies the meaning of earlier statutes, it is ‘highly persuasive,’ even if it does not technically control.”