21st 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 Monday, May 11, the Collingsworth County Commissioners’ Court considered an ordinance outlawing abortion and declaring Collingsworth County a Sanctuary County for the Unborn. After a brief period of discussion about the ordinance, County Judge Scot Martindale and Collingsworth County Commissioners Keith Martin, Joel Sherwood, and Richard Johnson all voted in favor of the measure – making the vote a unanimous 4-0. 

The vote followed the City of Brownfield (pop. 9,976), which had become the 96th Sanctuary City for the Unborn in the nation on Thursday, May 7, and just before the City of Muleshoe (pop. 5,158) became the 97th Sanctuary City for the Unborn in the nation on Monday night. 

The unanimous passage made Collingsworth County (pop. 2,652) the 21st 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), Borden (pop. 631), Hall (pop. 2,825), Hood (pop. 61,598), King (pop. 265), Sterling (pop. 1,372), and Lynn (pop. 5,596) counties — as well as the 23rd county and the 119th political subdivision to outlaw abortion in the United States.

The addition of the City of Muleshoe later that night brought that number to 120. 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 Collingsworth County SCFTU Ordinance

The Collingsworth County SCFTU Ordinance prohibits elective abortions and the aiding or abetting of elective abortions within the unincorporated area of Collingsworth 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 Collingsworth 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 Collingsworth County.”

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 Collingsworth County.”

This means it is now illegal to use the sections of U.S. Highway 83, State Highway 203, and all sections of all other roads found in the unincorporated area of Collingsworth County for the purpose of abortion trafficking.

The Collingsworth County SCFTU Ordinance connects with the county ordinances passed in Hall, Motley, King, Dickens, Crosby, Lubbock, Lynn, Dawson, Borden, Howard, Mitchell, and Sterling to create a ‘Wall of Ordinances’ prohibiting abortion trafficking almost 12,000 square miles in length. The ordinances are 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 Collingsworth 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 Collingsworth County, and declares the organizations in violation of the federal Comstock Act – which prohibits the mailing and receiving of abortion inducing drugs and abortion paraphernalia – to be criminal organizations, prohibiting such organizations from operating within the unincorporated area of Collingsworth County.

The Private Enforcement Mechanism

The ordinance is not enforced by Collingsworth County, its elected officials, or any of their employees. Instead of being enforced criminally, the law is enforced civilly by private citizens.

This is the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforced: through a private enforcement mechanism that allows private citizens to file a lawsuit against anyone in violation of the law. The Collingsworth County SCFTU 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 aiding or abetting the abortionist in the killing of an unborn child.

Highlighting the Thriving Texas Families Program

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

Picture: The Collingsworth County Judge and Commissioners take a picture with Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative founder Mark Lee Dickson after a unanimous 4-0 adoption of the ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking. 

The 11th Unanimous Vote For Life This Year

Collingsworth County’s vote was the 11th unanimous passage of the ordinance by a political subdivision in Texas this year, following: the City of Matador (pop. 570), Borden County (pop. 631), the City of Lockney (pop. 1,988), Hall County (2,825), Hood County (pop. 61,598), the City of Wellman (pop.205), King County (pop. 265), Sterling County (pop. 1,372), the City of O’Donnell (pop. 704), and Lynn County (pop. 5,596). 

The City of Muleshoe (pop. 5,158) was almost unanimous, adopting the measure in a vote of 4-1. While the City of Brownfield (pop. 9,976) had rejected the measure in a 5-3 vote on April 2, the measure was adopted 5-3 on May 7, after a successful city initiative petition. The only political subdivision to have unanimously rejected the measure in 2026 is Terry County (pop. 11,602), where the vote was 4-0. 

Other cities in Collingsworth County that could pass a SCFTU ordinance include the cities of Wellington (pop. 2,215) and Dodson (pop. 93). Citizens who wish to see their city or county pass an ordinance to further protect pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the violence of abortion are encouraged to sign the online petition – regardless of what city, county, or state in which they are located.