Texas Republicans Ban Women From Using Highways for Abortion Appointments

Lubbock County, Texas, joins a group of other rural Texas counties that have voted to ban women from using their roads to seek abortions.

This comes after six cities and counties in Texas have passed abortion-related bans, out of nine that have considered them. However, this ordinance makes Lubbock the biggest jurisdiction yet to pass restrictions on abortion-related transportation.

During Monday's meeting, the Lubbock County Commissioners Court passed an ordinance banning abortion, abortion-inducing drugs and travel for abortion in the unincorporated areas of Lubbock County, declaring Lubbock County a "Sanctuary County for the Unborn." The ordinance is part of a continued strategy by conservative activists to further restrict abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade as the ordinances are meant to bolster Texas' existing abortion ban, which allows private citizens to sue anyone who provides or "aids or abets" an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

The ordinance, which was introduced to the court last Wednesday, was passed by a vote of 3-0 with commissioners Terence Kovar, Jason Corley and Jordan Rackler, all Republicans, voting to pass the legislation while County Judge Curtis Parrish, Republican, and Commissioner Gilbert Flores, Democrat, abstained from the vote.

At the helm of legislation and the campaign to ban abortion-related transit in Texas is Mark Lee Dickson, a Christian pastor who began pushing communities to outlaw abortion by declaring themselves "sanctuary cities for the unborn" in 2019.
According to Reuters, Dickson stressed the importance of passing the transport ban at a time when "a lot is changing in our culture."

In response to the ordinance, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas said in a press release emailed to Newsweek the decision adds another layer of complexity to an already challenging landscape for individuals seeking essential healthcare services.

"Texans already live under some of the most restrictive and dangerous abortion bans in the country, yet anti-abortion extremists continue to push additional unnecessary, confusing, and fear-inducing barriers to essential healthcare," Autumn Keiser, Spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas said. "Though banned from providing abortions by Texas' statewide bans, the Planned Parenthood Health Center in Lubbock is a trusted resource for reproductive and sexual healthcare and education for West Texans in Lubbock and surrounding communities.

"With high rates of uninsured residents and sexually transmitted infections in Lubbock County, Planned Parenthood is focused on ensuring that Texans can access high-quality, affordable healthcare safely and without the stigma and judgment that these political ordinances create," Keiser added.

However, abortion rights supporters believe the transport bans will backfire on the anti-abortion movement as abortion rights advocates continue to fight against them as they head into the 2024 elections.

"We're going to make sure that there are political and electoral consequences for this," Rachel O'Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women's March activist organization, told Reuters.

Lubbock's ordinance also comes as Amarillo City Council is expected to weigh its own abortion-related bans on Tuesday, according to Amarillo Globe-News.

This is particularly significant as Lubbock and Amarillo are both traversed by major highways that connect Texas to New Mexico, where abortion is legal.
Voters in the city of Lubbock previously approved of a "sanctuary city" proposition in May of 2021.

In response to the May 2021 decision in Lubbock, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas said in a press release, "Access to healthcare services, including abortion, should not be determined by someone's zip code, especially when these restrictions will disproportionately impact low income women and women of color. We remain committed to advocating for access to abortion for any Texan, including here in Lubbock."

The continued fight over abortion restrictions in Texas began after Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed into law one of the nation's strictest abortion measures, banning procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy in 2021.

"Our creator endowed us with the right to life and yet millions of children lose their right to life every year because of abortion," Abbott said in a bill signing ceremony, captured on videos posted on social media.

Newsweek has reached out to Dickson via email for further comment.