City Council to reconsider Sanctuary for the Unborn Ordinance after citizen petition

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

When the City Council of Brownfield, Texas (pop. 9,779), voted 5-3 against the adoption of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking in the City of Brownfield, it upset some people. It especially upset 24-year-old Natalie Chandler, who saw the City of Lubbock – located 40 miles away – outlaw abortion several years ago, becoming the largest Sanctuary City for the Unborn in the nation. Chandler was proud of Lubbock's decision.

Then, when Chandler read a Live Action News article about the loss in her own city of Brownfield, she was shocked.

"We're Better Than This"

"I remember waking up and reading the article online and feeling anger start burning in my belly, talking about it with my family, and seeing it in their eyes,” Chandler shared.

On April 9, Chandler shared the article on her Facebook page, writing, “I would’ve never thought that my town would vote AGAINST protecting the rights of unborn children and pregnant mothers.” She thought, "Brownfield is better than this.”

With guidance from Right to Life Across Texas, Chandler decided to follow the citizen initiative petition process outlined in the Brownfield City Charter in order to get her city leadership to reconsider the measure.

Article XI, § 98 of the Brownfield City Charter states:

The electors shall have power to propose any ordinance except an ordinance appropriating money or authorizing the levy of taxes, and to adopt or reject the same at the polls, such power being known as the initiative.

Any initiative ordinance may be submitted to the Council by a petition signed by qualified electors of the City equal in number to at least twenty-five (25) per centum of the number of votes cast at the last regular municipal election.

Chandler, as the Lead Petitioner, rallied four other petitioners: her parents – Nathan and Penny Chandler – and Kenneth and Terri Kirk, a couple from her church who are like family to her.

In addition to forming a Petitioner’s Committee and making sure the citizen initiative petition was drafted as outlined in the Brownfield City Charter, Chandler recruited the help of pro-life advocates across Texas who were ready and willing to help her collect the required number of signatures.

Chandler shared:

"What followed was one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten to be a part of.

In addition to the help of people from throughout my community, individuals from surrounding towns in West Texas and whole families driving in from East Texas were willing to come to Brownfield and go door to door –  all in the pouring rain – informing our citizens of the ordinance being rejected, and collect signatures that would give the ordinance another chance to be considered before the council, all because they wanted to help protect the sanctity of life in a town that wasn’t even their own."

Chandler, who was able to collect over three full petition pages-worth of signatures, continued:

"We came together and spent long hours into the night planning and coordinating, verifying the collected signatures until we were bleary-eyed and getting snappy with each other. In the middle of it all, I saw strangers become friends, and my friends and family open their homes and lend us their tables, all of us bonding over the same burning desire to see life preserved."

A Successful Effort

After just a few days of collecting signatures, the Petitioner's Committee was of the belief that they had met and exceeded that required number of signatures for the initiative. 

On Monday, April 13, just hours after neighboring Lynn County voted 5-0 to become Texas’ latest Sanctuary County for the Unborn, Natalie Chandler, Kenneth Kirk, Brownfield Mayor Eric Horton, and the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative met outside of Brownfield City Hall and prayed over the collected signatures.

Soon after, the petition was filed with the City Secretary. 

Just three days later, on Thursday, April 16, Brownfield City Secretary Kelly Burris notified Chandler that a sufficient number of signatures had been obtained and that the results of the petition would be certified before the City Council at their next meeting on Thursday, April 23.

The posted agenda for their next meeting reads, under Agenda Item #6: “Discuss and consider accepting the certification of a petition for an initiative ordinance and calling for a public hearing, and take any necessary action.” 

This is in accordance with Article XI, § 104 of the Brownfield City Charter.

Chandler shared: “As we count down the days until the ordinance is presented again to the city council, this time with the resounding voice of the people to back it, I pray for God’s ‘good, pleasing, and perfect will’ to be done in our town.” 

If the Brownfield City Council City fails to pass the ordinance upon reconsideration, voters will have the final say on the matter.

As stated in Article XI, § 105, “If the Council shall fail to pass an ordinance proposed by the initiative petition, or shall pass it in a form different from that set forth in the petition therefore… the proposed… ordinance shall be submitted to the electors…” 

Support for Sanctuary Ordinances

In August 2023, Senator Charles Perry (SD-28), Representative Dustin Burrows (HD-83), and eighteen other Texas Senators and Representatives penned a letter in support of cities and counties passing such measures across the State of Texas. The letter read:

While it is true that abortion is outlawed in the entire State of Texas, from the point of conception, our work is far from over. Right now, throughout the State of Texas, women are being trafficked across our borders by abortion traffickers funded by abortion trafficking organizations still operating in our state. As a result, these women are being abused and traumatized by abortion across our Texas–New Mexico border and sent back to Texas for our cities and counties to deal with the aftermath taking place in our homes, our schools, our churches, and our hospitals.

The Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinances seek to protect these institutions by putting safeguards in place to protect men, women, and their children for years to come. These ordinances, which seek to close as many loopholes as possible, do not penalize women who seek or undergo abortions, but place the penalty on the party who most deserves it – the abortionist and the industry profiting from the unjust procedure, including abortion traffickers.​

Since August 2023, 46 political subdivisions have passed ordinances identical in substance to the proposed Brownfield Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance. Among those are cities and counties like: Lubbock County (pop. 317,561), Hood County (pop. 61,598), Hopkins County (pop. 38,784), Howard County (pop. 34,860), Dawson County (pop. 12,130), Wolfforth (pop. 9,600), Lynn County (pop. 5,596), Ovilla (pop. 4,709), Cochran County (pop. 2,547), Olton (pop. 2,228), O'Donnell (pop. 704), Borden County (pop. 631), Roaring Springs (pop. 219), and Wellman (pop. 205).