Texas city of Ranger becomes 98th US ‘Sanctuary City for the Unborn’

On Thursday, May 28, the City Commission of Ranger, Texas (pop. 2,469), passed an ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking, declaring the City of Ranger a Sanctuary City for the Unborn (SCFTU). The adoption of the measure made Ranger the 98th city in the nation, the 81st city in Texas, and the 5th city in Eastland County to pass an ordinance outlawing abortion. 

Key Takeaways:

• On May 28, the City Commission of Ranger, Texas, passed an ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking, protecting preborn babies and their mothers.

• The vote was unanimous.

• The ordinance makes Ranger the 98th city in the nation to become a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.

The Details:

The effort to see Ranger become a Sanctuary City for the Unborn did not happen overnight. Since 2019, residents throughout the city have expressed interest in seeing their city adopt the measure. Communication with city leadership dates back as early as May 2020. While it took a while to get off the ground in Eastland County, once it did, it spread like wildfire. The nearby City of Carbon (pop. 345) passed the ordinance in February 2021, followed by the City of Gorman (pop. 1,083) in March 2021, Eastland (pop. 3,970) in August 2021, and Cisco (pop. 3,913) in October 2021. While renewed interest was seen with city leadership in Ranger in late December 2022, the ordinance did not make it onto the City Commission agenda. 

After citizens in Brownfield, Texas (pop. 9,976) saw their City Council vote 5-3 against the SCFTU Ordinance in April 2026, a citizen initiative petition process began in the City of Brownfield. Weighing the possibility that Brownfield could be on the November ballot, discussions began in other cities where SCFTU ordinances had been discussed but never passed. Several residents in Ranger were confident that, if enough signatures were collected, their council would recognize the citizenry’s support and adopt the measure. If the ordinance was not adopted by a majority vote of the Ranger City Commission, then surely the ordinance would be adopted by the City of Ranger’s electorate at the November election. A petitioner’s committee was soon formed with five residents of the City of Ranger: Gary Wayne McDaniel, Sylvanus G Underwood, Ruby Page Underwood, Blanca Estela Vasquez, and Jack Steven Jackson, Sr. With help from volunteers from Right to Life Across Texas, signatures were collected across the City of Ranger: both door-to-door and at churches and businesses. 

Seeing Brownfield citizens' success in collecting enough signatures for their citizen initiative only helped further encourage Ranger citizens to complete their initiative. The Ranger SCFTU Citizen Initiative Petition was turned in to City Manager Charlie Archer on Friday, May 1; the initiative was deemed successful. When Ranger residents heard the Brownfield City Council adopted the SCFTU Ordinance on May 7, many were optimistic their council would feel empowered to adopt the measure as well – especially with over 50 citizens of Ranger having signed the petition in support. 

On May 11, the Ranger City Commission received the results of the initiative. At that meeting, the council expressed a desire to pass the measure. Due to the Ranger City Charter requiring two readings of all ordinances passed by the Ranger City Commission and thirty days for the Ranger City Commission to pass an ordinance brought forth by the citizen initiative petition process, the Ranger City Commission scheduled a first reading and a hearing for its next meeting. 

The first reading vote on Tuesday, May 26th, was a unanimous 4-0, with Commissioner Katie Billings making the motion to adopt the measure, Commissioner Jim McCullough seconding, and Mayor Robert Butler and Commissioner Jared Calvert joining the commissioners in supporting its passage.

The second and final reading vote took place on Thursday, May 28th. The vote was a unanimous 3-0, with Commissioner Katie Billings making the motion to adopt the measure, Commissioner Jim McCullough seconding, and Mayor Robert Butler joining the commissioners in supporting its passage.

The Ranger SCFTU Ordinance prohibits: (1) performing an elective abortion and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits, (2) elective abortions on residents – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) abortion trafficking through the city, (4) the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into the city, (5) criminal organizations from doing business inside the city limits, and (6) the transportation or disposal of the remains of unborn children who have been killed by an elective abortion across state lines and carried by waste management companies into Texas in and through the city. The ordinance is not enforced by the City of Ranger, its elected officials, or by any of its 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 allowing private citizens to file a lawsuit against anyone in violation of the law. 

The Ranger Sanctuary City for the Unborn 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. 

In August 2023, twenty Texas Senators and Representatives penned a letter in support of cities and counties passing ordinances outlawing abortion across the State of Texas. The letter read: 

Currently there are over 50 political subdivisions in Texas which have passed local ordinances prohibiting abortion within their jurisdictions. As elected officials who voted for state legislation allowing these local actions, we are thrilled to see this wave of pro-life action at the local level and hope to see these ordinances continue to spread across our state – even in a post-Roe Texas. 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 letter continued:

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 places the penalty on the party who most deserves it – the abortionist and the industry profiting from the unjust procedure, including abortion traffickers.

The Ranger SCFTU Ordinance is the fourteenth ordinance to pass in 2026 and is identical in substance to all 13 of the other ordinances passed by Texas cities and counties in 2026 and all 29 of the ordinances passed by Texas cities and counties in 2025.

What's Happening Now:

Those interested in seeing their city or county join the initiative are encouraged to sign the online petition on the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website.