Texas city of Big Sandy becomes 75th Sanctuary City for the Unborn in US

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

On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Big Sandy, Texas (pop. 1,343) became the 75th city in the nation to pass an ordinance outlawing abortion.

The “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, declaring Big Sandy a Safe Haven for the Unborn” was passed by a unanimous 4-0 vote. The vote also made the Big Sandy the 58th city in Texas, and the third city in Upshur County, to pass a SCFTU ordinance.

After the vote, Mayor Linda Baggett shared, “I am blessed to serve with a City Council that is brave and stands together to protect our precious babies and their mothers. My prayer is that more communities take the same action making all of Texas a SAFE HAVEN FOR THE UNBORN.” 

Instead of using the traditional “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” (SCFTU) title, Big Sandy chose to embrace the “Safe Haven for the Unborn” title instead, like the cities of Big Spring (pop. 28,862), Gilmer (pop. 5,216), and Muenster (pop. 1,556). The city of Gilmer, a neighboring city to Big Sandy, was the first to use the title in September 2019. Although Big Sandy’s ordinance has a different title, the rest of the ordinance is almost identical to the ordinances passed in cities throughout Texas this year.

The Big Sandy Safe Haven for the Unborn Ordinance (1) prohibits performing an elective abortion and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits of Big Sandy, (2) prohibits elective abortions on residents of Big Sandy – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) prohibits abortion trafficking through the City of Big Sandy, (4) prohibits the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into the City of Big Sandy, (5) prohibits criminal organizations from doing business inside the city limits of Big Sandy, and (6) prohibits through or in the City of Big Sandy the transportation and disposal of the remains of unborn children who have been killed by an elective abortion across state lines and carried into Texas by waste management companies.

The ordinance also educates about the Thriving Texas Families Program and directs people to the Texas Pregnancy Care Network website to be connected to these services.

The Big Sandy Safe Haven for the Unborn Ordinance is not enforced by law enforcement or local fines, but through a private right of action – which is the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforced. The ordinance reads, “Any person, other than the city of Big Sandy, and any officer or employee of the city, has standing to bring and may bring a civil action against any person or entity that: violates any provision” of this ordinance.

The ordinance is also clear that “a civil action … may not be brought: against the woman upon whom the abortion was performed or induced or attempted to be performed or induced in violation of this ordinance, or against a pregnant woman who intends or seeks to abort her unborn child in violation of this ordinance.”

After the historic vote, several who attended the meeting gathered at Big Sandy’s famous Circle M Crawfish restaurant to celebrate the victory for life. East Texans for Liberty Executive Director Stacy McMahan shared, “I am thankful for Mayor Linda Baggett and the Big Sandy City Council for their unwavering support in preserving innocent life and standing with State Senator Bryan Hughes and House Representative Cole Hefner in the fight for life.”

Upshur County Republican Party Chairman Carl Byers, moved by Big Sandy’s stand for life, expressed a desire to see his hometown of Union Grove (pop. 357) pass a similar ordinance.

During the 87th Legislative Session, the State of Texas explicitly allowed municipalities and counties to outlaw and prohibit abortion, and to establish penalties and remedies against those who perform or enable unlawful abortions. 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.

While the Texas Attorney General’s Office has stated that cities could always do this, the passage of this provision found in The Texas Heartbeat Act explicitly stated as law that political subdivisions (which includes cities and counties) could not be restricted from exercising this authority.  

Big Sandy is the fifth city and the seventh political subdivision to pass a SCFTU ordinance in 2025. The vote follows the cities of Mullin (pop. 196), Moran (pop.285), Lueders (pop. 346), and Avinger (pop. 371), and the counties of Shackelford (pop. 3,105) and Camp (pop. 13,094). Citizens who are interested in seeing their city or county pass an ordinance further outlawing abortion within their city limits are encouraged to sign the online petition.