16th Texas county outlaws abortion and use of roads for ‘abortion trafficking’

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

Another county in Texas has outlawed abortion — and this county may be one of the most consequential votes yet in the effort to end the abortion trafficking of Texas residents to New Mexico and Colorado for abortion.

Hall County (pop. 2,825) is the first county in the Amarillo-Region of Texas to pass a Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance, and the first county to cut off U.S. Highway 287 – the major route of travel from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex to Amarillo for those traveling to abortion facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, or Pueblo, Colorado.

Hall County’s Ordinance connects with the ordinances passed in Motley, Dickens, Crosby, and Lubbock — forming an uninterrupted 'Wall of Ordinances' prohibiting abortion trafficking, for almost 40,000 square miles. 

Opposition Failed to Appear:

The effort to outlaw abortion trafficking in Hall County was not without opposition, which came from Avow Texas – formerly known as ‘NARAL Pro-Choice Texas.’ In January 2021, ‘NARAL Pro-Choice Texas’ – the state chapter of the National Abortion Rights Action League – announced “a new chapter as an independent statewide organization” rebranding under the new name, Avow Texas. At that time, Avow Executive Director Aimee Arrambide stated: 

“To avow means to declare openly, bluntly, and without shame. Now more than ever, our state needs bold and unapologetic advocacy for abortion rights. As an independent, Texas-based organization, Avow will continue our work at the state and local level — where the decisions that most impact Texans are happening.Anti-abortion politicians use Texas as a policy testing ground for the rest of the country. We can stop them here, before these dangerous policies spread across the country. When we fight and win, the impact is huge.” 

This is why, on the morning of Saturday, February 7, Avow Texas put out a call to action on social media encouraging its followers to mobilize to stop two counties from passing Sanctuary for the Unborn Ordinances – Hall County on February 9 and Hood County on February 10. The pro-abortion group's call to action read: 

An outside fringe group is pushing two Texas counties to pass so-called “sanctuary city for the unborn” ordinances that attack reproductive freedom and put our community at risk. This ordinance threatens residents’ ability to access legal health care outside Texas. It also tramples personal freedom and privacy. No government entities should police our bodies and our decisions.

Your presence matters! A packed room sends a clear message: Texas will not become a testing ground for extremist attacks on our rights or freedoms. Can’t make it to the meeting? Write a letter or make a phone call!

Despite their passionate plea in social media posts on Facebook and Instagram, their call to action had the reverse effect.

On the morning of February 9, instead of the room being packed by those who identify as pro-abortion, the Hall County Commissioners’ Chambers were packed by those who unashamedly identified as pro-life.

Several pastors from Memphis, Texas, were there in attendance for the historic meeting, ready to stand for life, including Pastor Stan Crosby from Memphis United Methodist Church, Pastor Daniel Downey of First Baptist Church, and Pastor Dale Griswold of First Assembly of God.

While Avow Texas had encouraged their followers to show up at 9:30 AM, Avow Texas’ “unapologetic abortion advocacy” was nowhere to be found. 

Shortly after 10:00 AM, the Commissioners’ Court of Hall County, Texas, began its consideration of an ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking in Hall County. County Judge Ray Powell began the meeting by reading an opinion from Attorney Jim Allison, an attorney from Austin, Texas, who serves as General Counsel for the County Judges and Commissioners Association. Allison's opinion had been circulated throughout Texas as a result of an inquiry from Hockley County Judge Sharla Baldridge.

Constitutionality Questions:

On Tuesday, January 20, Judge Baldridge asked Attorney Jim Allison if the ordinance was constitutional. Attorney Jim Allison’s response, penned Wednesday, January 21, has been read or referenced at several county commissioner meetings across Texas since it was released. It was referenced in Rains County on January 22 and in King, Collingsworth, and Hall counties on February 9. 

Alison’s opinion, read by Judge Ray Powell before the Hall County Commissioners’ Court, was that “counties do not have the statutory authority to adopt these ordinances.”

While Allison recognized that Texas law states that “nothing in state law shall be construed as prohibiting a city or county from adopting provisions that are consistent with state law on this subject,” Allison took the position that “this is not a grant of authority for counties to adopt such local ordinances,” arguing that “counties can only adopt orders or ordinances with specific authorization from the legislature.” Alison concluded, “The statute stating that such ordinances are not prohibited is not sufficient to invest the commissioners court with the authority to adopt such ordinances.”

In response, the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative dismantled the attorney’s arguments by making the case that the plain-reading of the law did make it clear that counties in Texas may prohibit abortion, and that the intent of the legislature was unmistakably clear.

Texas Government Code § 2273.005 states (emphasis added), “This chapter may not be construed to restrict a municipality or county from prohibiting abortion,” and Texas Government Code § 311.036(b) states:

A statute may not be construed to restrict a political subdivision from regulating or prohibiting abortion in a manner that is at least as stringent as the laws of this state unless the statute explicitly states that political subdivisions are prohibited from regulating or prohibiting abortion in the manner described by the statute.

On June 1, 2021, in the ruling Planned Parenthood v. the City of Lubbock (2021), Federal Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Lubbock Division weighed in on the question of our Legislature's clarity on the matter of both cities and counties prohibiting abortion. In his 50-page opinion ruling against Planned Parenthood, Judge Hendrix stated (emphasis added): 

Contrary to plaintiffs’ argument, the Texas legislature has issued multiple statutes indicating that the [Lubbock City ] ordinance is not preempted. In 2019, the state legislature modified the Texas Government Code as follows: '[t]his chapter may not be construed to restrict a municipality or county from prohibiting abortion.' Tex. Gov’t Code § 2272.005. This provides some indication that the state did not intend to preempt municipal action like the ordinance with 'unmistakable clarity.'

Lastly, an August 21, 2023 letter to “Texas City Councils, County Commissions, and Local Officials” signed by Texas Speaker of the House of Representatives Dustin Burrows, Senator Charles Perry, and 18 other conservative legislators across Texas, states (emphasis added): 

During the 2019 Legislative Session, a bill was passed (Senate Bill 22) which prohibited tax dollars from funding abortion providers and their affiliates at the state and local level and included an amendment specifically clarifying that the bill does not prohibit cities and counties from banning abortion . . . 

During the 2021 Legislative Session, the Texas Legislature made it even more clear that cities and counties could pass ordinances outlawing abortion when they passed Senate Bill 8 - also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act. This bill prohibited an abortion being performed on any child which is found to have a detectable heartbeat, but also included a section addressing the authority cities and counties have at prohibiting abortion in their jurisdiction . . . 

Currently there are over 50 political subdivisions in Texas which have passed local ordinances prohibiting abortion within their jurisdictions. As elected officials who voted for state legislation allowing these local actions, we are thrilled to see this wave of pro-life action at the local level and hope to see these ordinances continue to spread across our state - even in a post-Roe Texas.

Convinced that the passage of the ordinance was the right thing to do in Hall County, Precinct 2 Commissioner Terry Lindsey made a motion to adopt the ordinance outlawing abortion and declaring Hall County a Sanctuary County for the Unborn. The motion was seconded by Precinct 1 Commissioner Ronny Wilson. By the time of the vote, County Judge Ray Powell, Precinct 3 Commissioner Gary Proffitt, and Precinct 4 Commissioner Troy Glover all cast their votes in favor of the ordinance as well, making the vote a unanimous 5-0.

The Numbers Continue to Grow:

The passage made Hall County (pop. 2,825) the 15th 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),  Howard (pop. 34,860), Motley (pop. 1,063), Crosby (pop. 5,133), and Borden (pop. 631) counties — as well as the 18th county and the 111th political subdivision to outlaw abortion in the U.S.

As a result of the ordinance, it is now illegal to use the sections of U.S. Highway 287, State Highway 70, State Highway 86, State Highway 256, and all sections of all other roads found in Hall 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 U.S.  

After the meeting, First Baptist Church of Memphis Pastor Daniel Downey thanked the Hall County commissioners "for giving me the right to protect my children."