City of Odessa installs new leadership, advances ‘Sanctuary City for the Unborn’ ordinance

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily of Live Action or Live Action News.

On Monday, November 22, two significant actions took place which many residents throughout Odessa, Texas (pop. 125,413), had been waiting two years for: (1) the swearing in of openly pro-life council members who were willing to outlaw abortion, and (2) the passage of an ordinance outlawing abortion within the city limits of Odessa. The story is a testimony of how ‘pro-life’ is a winning issue and ‘where elected officials stand on the life issue’ should play a role in who we cast our ballots for at the local level.

On December 15, 2020, the citizens of Odessa, Texas, cast their votes for mayor and two city council positions. The winners of the special run-off election ran on a platform which promised to pass an ordinance outlawing abortion within the city of Odessa. Javier Joven was elected as Mayor of Odessa with 63% of the vote, Denise Swanner was elected as City Council Member At-Large with 71% of the vote, and Mark Matta was elected as City Council Member of District 1 with 64% of the vote — a landslide victory for each one of the openly pro-life candidates for office.

During a City Council workshop on January 5, 2021, the City Council of Odessa heard about the opportunity to pass an ordinance outlawing abortion within their city limits. During the course of this meeting it soon became apparent that despite the presence of three passionately pro-life voices on the council, there were four voices on the council against the measure: Council members Steve Thompson, Tom Sprawls, Detra White, and Mari Willis.

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During a City Council workshop on August 2, 2021, the City Council of Odessa heard again about the opportunity to pass an ordinance outlawing abortion within their city limits. This time a different approach was taken — placing an ordinance outlawing abortion on the November ballot for the citizens of Odessa to decide. The approach came as a result of Councilman Tom Sprawls saying he would support a city-wide vote on the measure. While this looked promising to many going into the workshop, it soon became apparent during the workshop that there were only three in favor of the ordinance going to the ballot in November 2021 and four against it. Sprawls told Mayor Joven, “I don’t know what the rush is. I don’t see the big deal in waiting” until the May 2022 election “so we can share the cost with the school” or the November 2022 election so that voters could have more time to learn about the proposed ordinance.

Many throughout the community became frustrated with the delay and expressed interest in replacing the opposition at the expiration of their term in November 2022. And while three of the four councilmembers who had stood in opposition to the abortion ban were up for re-election, Mari Willis, Detra White, and Tom Sprawls chose not to run again. The three Odessa residents who did run were Chris Hanie, Greg Connell, and Gilbert Vasquez — each of whom ended up running unopposed. Of the three, two had expressed their support in favor of Odessa becoming a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.

During the City Council meeting on November 22, 2022, Hanie, Connell, and Vasquez were sworn in to serve on the council. One of the first issues of business was a campaign promise: passing an ordinance outlawing abortion within the city limits of Odessa.

The “Ordinance outlawing abortion, declaring Odessa a sanctuary city for the unborn” passed the first of two required readings with 5 voting in favor of the ordinance (Joven, Matta, Swanner, Hanie, Connell), 1 against the ordinance (Thompson), and with one council member abstaining (Vasquez). The second and final vote will take place on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.

The ordinance, which is purely enforced through private civil enforcement, prohibits abortion and aiding or abetting an abortion within the city limits of Odessa, prohibits abortion-inducing drugs within the city limits of Odessa, prohibits abortions performed on Odessa residents regardless of where those abortions take place, prohibits human trafficking at any stage within the city limits of Odessa, and prohibits the City of Odessa from entering into any contract with any business which seeks to fund abortions – regardless of where those abortions may occur.

In addition to these provisions, the Odessa Ordinance (1) contains two additional findings, one addressing the horrors which are taking place across the Texas-New Mexico border and the other addressing the funds which are available to Texas residents who find themselves experiencing an unplanned pregnancy.

The fourth finding reads, “(4) Texas men and women are being hurt and traumatized by abortion across our Texas–New Mexico border and sent back to Texas for our city to deal with the aftermath in our homes, schools, universities, churches, women’s organizations, and hospitals.”

And the fifth finding reads:

(5) In addition to the life-affirming services which are already being provided by organizations in the city of Odessa, the Texas Alternatives to Abortion program is in place, which promotes childbirth and provides support services to pregnant mothers and their families, adoptive parents, and parents whose lives have been affected by miscarriage or loss of a child. The services provided as a part of the Alternatives to Abortion program include: counseling, mentoring, educational information and resources including classes on pregnancy, parenting, adoption, life skills and employment preparedness; material assistance covering basic needs, such as car seats, clothing, diapers, and formula; care coordination help through referrals to government assistance programs and other social services programs; call center for information and appointment scheduling; and housing and support services through maternity homes.

The program is available to any Texas resident who is a United States citizen or legal immigrant and is: the biological mother or father of an unborn child, the biological mother or father of a child, for up to three years postpartum; the parent, legal guardian, or adult caregiver of a minor who is a program client; a parent who has experienced miscarriage or loss of a child; or an adoptive parent of a child of any age, for up to two years after adoption finalization. These services can be found at the Texas Pregnancy Care Network website at www.texaspregnancy.org.

The 17-page ordinance, which is similar to the ordinances passed in Abilene, Athens, Plainview, and San Angelo on November 8, 2022, was specifically designed to address a post-Roe Odessa and puts into place the strongest protections possible for pregnant mothers and their unborn children.