13th Texas county outlaws abortion and use of roads for ‘abortion trafficking’

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the author.

On the morning of December 8, the Commissioners’ Court of Motley County, Texas, considered an ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking within the unincorporated area of Motley County.

After hearing a presentation from Right to Life Across Texas, Precinct 1 Commissioner Douglass Campbell made a motion to adopt the ordinance outlawing abortion and declaring Motley County a Sanctuary County for the Unborn (SCFTU). Precinct 2 Commissioner Roegan Cruse seconded the motion. Judge Jim Meador and Commissioners Douglass Campbell, Roegan Cruse, Franklin Jameson, and Timmy Brooks all voted in favor of the measure, making the passage a unanimous 5-0 vote.

The passage made Motley County (pop. 1,063) the 13th county in Texas to outlaw abortion trafficking – following Mitchell (pop. 9,070), Goliad (pop. 7,012), Cochran (pop. 2,547), Lubbock (pop. 317,561), Dawson (pop. 12,130), Jack (pop. 8,875), Shackelford (pop. 3,105), Camp (pop.13,164), Shelby (pop. 24,179), Hopkins (pop. 38,784), Dickens (pop. 1,725), and Howard (pop. 34,860) counties — as well as the 15th county and the 100th political subdivision to outlaw abortion in the United States. The effort to see political subdivisions throughout Texas outlaw abortion trafficking through the Sanctuaries for the Unborn initiative is supported by lawmakers across Texas and New Mexico.  

The Ordinance:

The Motley County SCFTU Ordinance prohibits elective abortions and the aiding or abetting of elective abortions within the unincorporated area of Motley County, as well as the performing of an elective abortion and the aiding or abetting of an elective abortion on a resident of the unincorporated area of Motley County, “regardless of the location of the abortion, regardless of the law in the jurisdiction where the abortion occurred, and regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion was performed or induced on a resident of the unincorporated area of Motley County.”   

Since Motley County’s Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance only covers the incorporated area of Motley County, if the incorporated area of the cities of Matador (pop. 570) and Roaring Springs (pop. 219) wish to have the same level of protections for pregnant mothers and their unborn children they will need to consider and pass the city version of the pro-life measure.

As a result of the ordinance, it is now illegal “for any person to knowingly transport any individual for the purpose of providing or obtaining an elective abortion, regardless of where the elective abortion will occur” as long as such activity "begins, ends, or passes through the unincorporated area of Motley County.”

This means it is now illegal to use the sections of U.S. Highway 62/U.S. Highway 70, State Highway 70 and all sections of all other roads found in the unincorporated area of Motley County for the purpose of abortion trafficking.

The ordinance is part of a cultural shift that looks at abortion trafficking the same way as drug trafficking or sex trafficking, and is intentionally written to facilitate the end of abortion throughout the United States.

The ordinance also prohibits abortion-inducing drugs within the unincorporated area of Motley County, prohibits Texas waste management companies from transporting and disposing of aborted fetal remains from any out-of-state abortion provider within the unincorporated area of Motley County, and prohibits criminal abortion organizations from operating within the unincorporated area of Motley County.

Private enforcement mechanism:

Like the Texas Heartbeat Act, the county ordinance is only enforced through a private enforcement mechanism, allowing lawsuits to be filed by citizens against anyone who violates the ordinance. The ordinance does not allow any lawsuit to be filed against the mother of the unborn child, but only against the abortionist and those who are assisting the abortionist in the killing of her unborn child. 

In addition to having strong protections for pregnant mothers and their unborn children, the Motley County SCFTU ordinance also educates about the statewide Thriving Texas Families Program which helps connect pregnant mothers to a variety of different resources found through centers listed on the Texas Pregnancy Care Network website and The Pregnancy Network website. 

Those who wish to see their county or city go as far as they can to protect pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the violence of abortion are encouraged to sign the online petition on the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website.