Denver City in Texas becomes 99th ‘Sanctuary City for the Unborn’ in US

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

On Monday, August 17, an “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, declaring Denver City a Sanctuary City for the Unborn" was adopted in a 6-0-1 vote by the city council of Denver City, Texas (pop. 4,911), making the city the 99th in the U.S. and the 82nd city in Texas to pass an ordinance outlawing abortion.

The city of Denver City, Texas, is located mainly in Yoakum County between Seminole (pop. 7,952) and Plains (pop. 1,481), on Texas State Highway 214 and between Seagraves (pop. 2,994) and Lovington, New Mexico (pop. 11,668), on Texas State Highway 83. A small section of Denver City is located in Gaines County.

Never miss the latest news in the fight for life.

The Denver City Council’s consideration of the measure followed a successful citizen initiative petition process allowed by the Denver City Charter. While only 357 verified signatures of Denver City residents were required for a successful citizen initiative, a total of 742 signatures were submitted on Monday, July 27.

Public Testimony:

After a presentation from Right To Life Across Texas, followed by several questions from the city council, several in attendance gave public testimony as to why they believed Denver City should become a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.

First to speak was Yoakum County native and Hobbs, New Mexico, resident Kim Stephens Van Dyke, who shared:

"I was raised in Plains; I was born in this neighborhood in Yoakum County Hospital [in Denver City], and I have lived in Hobbs [New Mexico] for 44 years. So I have experienced firsthand the challenge – especially whenever Texas enacted the heartbeat law – of how we were targeted by the abortion industry. I believe in the value of life at conception. Not only was I born in the Yoakum County Hospital, as a neonatal nurse of 28 years, I've had the opportunity to teach neonatal resuscitation here at this hospital. So bringing forth life, saving life is very important to me.

As I'm looking at this wall here, it brings to mind Nehemiah in the Bible, and whenever Nehemiah, along with the other Israelites, left Babylon… Whenever Nehemiah went back, he built that wall with tools in one hand and a weapon in the other. And I definitely see my home of Yoakum County – I still pay taxes in Yoakum County – I see Yoakum County as that Nehemiah, that has that opportunity to build that wall and protect the unborn so that the blood of innocent babies and the future taxpayers of Texas are not on the hands of this county."

Photo: Pastor Urias of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Denver City speaks before the city council. (Mark Lee Dickson)

Next, Pastor Gilberto Urias of Primera Iglesia Bautista gave an impassioned testimony before the Denver City Council. He shared:

"I am a pastor here in Denver City. A Christian first, but a pastor, a full-Gospel pastor… I was really touched by the group of people that were out walking and asking for [signatures] and explaining this ordinance. I believe, as a Christian, we’re going to stand one day before Almighty God. Which we are, like it or not, and give an account for what we did and didn’t do. I believe that if we support this, Denver City being a Sanctuary City for the Unborn, to me that’d be a great blessing. I know it would be, instead of a curse. New Mexico, they’re under a curse… It’s not biblical. Baby butchering."

Pastor Urias continued:

"Proverbs 3:27 says, 'Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand, or your hand to do it.' Once again, as a God-fearing Christian… I’ve got seven grandchildren of my own… I’m very thankful. I can’t imagine one of them being butchered the way they’re doing babies. They’re a great blessing… Like the lady said, we’ve got to stand our ground and do what is right."

After Pastor Urias' testimony, Mayor Ronald Weir made a motion to adopt the measure. The motion was seconded by Clint Bowman. Mayor Weir, Mayor Pro-Tem Keith Mensch, and City Councilmembers Clint Bowman, Joan Breith, Rodney Hanneman, and Mark Sherman voted 6-0 in favor of adopting the measure, while City Councilman Brad Irons voted to abstain.

Denver City Mayor and Council — Photo: Denver City Mayor and City Council take a group picture after the vote. (Mark Lee Dickson)

Councilman Brad Irons – who abstained – called the presentation "powerful" and shared that the people who spoke touched his heart. He expressed gratitude to Right to Life Across Texas both for the opportunity to ask the "hard questions" and for how each question was handled. Councilman Irons shared:

I still had questions before the vote, but you definitely changed my 'no' to an 'abstention' so I could get more information. Too many people are just saying no without asking questions and getting past the misinformation. If they don’t have enough information to say 'yes,' how do they have enough information to justify automatically voting 'no'? If they don’t know, then they need to get out of the way.

Councilman Irons expressed that the discussions afterward were even better than the discussions that took place during the meeting and helped him understand even more.

The Ordinance:

The Denver City SCFTU ordinance:

(1) prohibits performing elective abortions and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits of Denver City, adding additional enforcement coverage beyond that provided in state law,

(2) prohibits elective abortions on Denver City residents – regardless of where the abortion took place,

(3) prohibits abortion trafficking pregnant mothers to abortion facilities across state lines,

(4) recognizes 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 and prohibits such organizations from operating within the city limits of Denver City, and

(5) prohibits the transportation and disposal of the bodies of aborted babies killed by out-of-state abortion providers anywhere within the city limits of Denver City.

The ordinance is not enforced by the city or local law enforcement, but is enforced the same way as the Texas Heartbeat Act: through the creation of a private right of action allowing citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone violating the law. The measure does not allow any lawsuit to be filed against the mother of the unborn child, but only against the abortionist and those who are assisting the abortionist in the killing of her unborn child — including abortion traffickers. The Denver City SCFTU ordinance also educates about the state-funded Thriving Texas Families Program and the services provided through pregnancy care providers partnered with the Texas Pregnancy Care Network and The Pregnancy Network.

Multiple Ordinances Passed:

The City of Denver City is the eighth city and the sixteenth political subdivision in 2026 to pass a ‘Sanctuary for the Unborn’ ordinance, following the Texas cities of Matador (pop. 570), Lockney (pop.1,988), Wellman (pop. 205), O’Donnell (pop. 704), Brownfield (pop. 9,976), Muleshoe (pop. 5,158), Ranger (pop. 2,469), and the Texas counties of Borden (pop. 631), Hall (pop.2,825), Hood (pop. 61,598), King (pop. 265), Sterling (pop. 1,372), Lynn (pop. 5,596), Collingsworth (pop. 2,652), and Scurry (pop. 16,932).

The only other city in Yoakum County that could pass a SCFTU ordinance is the City of Plains, while the only city yet to consider the measure in Gaines County is the city of Seagraves.

On August 10, the Seminole City Council voted unanimously to reject the Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance, which came before them as a result of a similar citizen initiative petition process allowed for by their city charter, where 1,551 signatures were submitted to the City of Seminole. Because the Seminole City Council failed to adopt the ordinance, the Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance will be on a citywide ballot for voters to accept or reject at the polls on November 3, 2026.

Both Yoakum County (pop. 7,694) and Gaines County (pop. 21,598) could also pass a ‘Sanctuary County for the Unborn’ ordinance covering the unincorporated area of Yoakum and Gaines County.

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 they are located in.

Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.

Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.

Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.

Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!