Texas border city of Seminole to consider outlawing abortion trafficking

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

Another Texas-border city will be considering an ordinance to outlaw abortion trafficking. On Monday, June 8, a citizen-initiative petition with over 1,550+ signatures was filed with the City of Seminole, Texas (pop. 7,952), proposing a Sanctuary City for the Unborn (SCFTU) ordinance further outlawing abortion. Eighteen days later, on Friday, June 26, City Secretary Devan Hawkins Butler confirmed that the requirements for the initiative petition had been met and that the Certification of Petition Sufficiency would be presented to the city council at its next meeting on Monday, July 13. Once the results of the certified petition are presented to the city council, it shall become the city council's duty to adopt or reject the ordinance within 60 days. If the city council fails to pass the ordinance as proposed, the ordinance shall be the subject of a city election in which voters may accept or reject it at the polls.

​A Key Location

​Located about 30 miles away, the City of Seminole is the closest Texas city to the City of Hobbs, New Mexico (pop 41,604). When Roe v. Wade (1973) was overturned in the Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) decision on June 24, 2022, and abortion facilities could no longer operate within the State of Texas, the City of Hobbs became the primary target for one of the largest independent abortion providers in the nation – Whole Woman’s Health. At the time of Roe’s demise, the abortion business had facilities in Fort Worth, McKinney, Austin, and McAllen. While Whole Woman’s Health had signed a lease on an old dental office in Hobbs, the introduction of a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance in Hobbs led the abortion provider to abandon its lease and open its new facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico – over five hours away. The Hobbs SCFTU Ordinance was adopted on November 7, 2022.

The Proposed Seminole SCFTU Ordinance

If adopted, the Seminole SCFTU Ordinance will provide some of the strongest levels of protection for pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the tragedy of abortion. The ordinance will:

1. Prohibit elective abortions and the aiding or abetting of elective abortions within the City of Seminole by extending the private enforcement mechanism of the Texas Heartbeat Act from the point of detectable heartbeat to the point of fertilization.

2. Prohibit elective abortions on residents of the City of Seminole – regardless of where the abortion takes place.

3. Prohibit abortion traffickers and abortion trafficking organizations from trafficking women, including minors, through the City of Seminole for abortions across state lines.

4. Prohibit abortion-inducing drugs from being mailed into the City of Seminole by the creation of a localized private right of action, serving as an additional deterrent against out-of-state abortion pill distributors.

5. Recognize any organization involved in the mailing and receiving of abortion inducing drugs and abortion paraphernalia as criminal abortion organizations in violation of the federal Comstock Act and prohibit such organizations from doing business within the City of Seminole.

6. Prohibit Texas waste management companies from transporting through the City of Seminole the remains of dead babies that have been aborted at abortion facilities outside the State of Texas and brought back into Texas for disposal as trash in landfills.

The ordinance is enforced the same way as the Texas Heartbeat Act, not by law enforcement but by giving private citizens the ability to file a lawsuit against any individual or organization in violation of the ordinance.

Measure Has Support of Texas Legislators

In August 2023, 20 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, 50 political subdivisions have passed ordinances identical in substance to the proposed Seminole SCFTU ordinance. Among those cities are Brownfield (pop. 9,976), Wolfforth (pop. 9,600), and Wellman (pop. 205).

Successful Citizen Initiative Petition Processes in Texas

The petition is the fourth successful citizen-initiative petition filed in Texas this year seeking to further protect pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the violence of abortion. To date, eleven cities in Texas have considered Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances as a result of a successful citizen-initiative petition process. Six of those cities saw the measure placed on a citywide ballot. Out of those six votes, only one city rejected the measure. The six cities that considered a SCFTU ordinance on a citywide ballot are:  

1. Lubbock (pop. 264,000): Adopted by voters May 1, 2021, with 62% voter approval.  

2. Athens (pop. 13,121): Adopted by voters November 8, 2022, with 58% voter approval.

3. Abilene (pop. 124,407): Adopted by voters November 8, 2022, with 53% voter approval.

4. San Angelo (pop. 101,612): Adopted by voters November 8, 2022, with 56% voter approval.

5. Plainview (22,343): Adopted by voters November 8, 2022, with 69% voter approval.

6. Amarillo (200,000): Rejected by voters November 5, 2024, with 59% of voters rejecting the measure.

Five city councils chose to adopt the measure themselves as a result of successful citizen-initiative petitions, thereby avoiding additional costs incurred by a citywide election:

1. Slaton (pop. 6,235): Instead of the ordinance going to the May 7, 2022 ballot, the Slaton City Commission adopted the ordinance in a 4-1 first-reading vote on November 15, 2021, and a unanimous 5-0 second and final reading vote on December 13, 2021.

2. Lindale (pop. 6,730): Instead of the ordinance going on the November 8, 2022 ballot, the Lindale City Council adopted the ordinance in a unanimous 4-0 vote on March 24, 2022.

3. Brownfield (pop. 9,976): Instead of the ordinance going on the November 3, 2026 ballot, the Brownfield City Council adopted the ordinance in a 5-3 vote on May 7, 2026.

4. Muleshoe (pop. 5,158): Instead of the ordinance going on the November 3, 2026 ballot, the Muleshoe City Council adopted the ordinance in a 4-1 vote on May 11, 2026.

5. Ranger (pop. 2,469): Instead of the ordinance going on the November 3, 2026 ballot, the Ranger City Commission adopted the ordinance in a unanimous 4-0 first-reading vote on May 26, 2026, and a unanimous 3-0 second and final-reading vote on May 28, 2026.

The Seminole SCFTU citizen-initiative petition was not the only petition that was circulated in the City of Seminole in support of the ordinance. In 2020, residents of Seminole began signing wet-signature and online petitions in favor of the measure, amassing well over 500 signatures.

Residents throughout Seminole are confident that the overwhelming support shown in these grassroots efforts will encourage their city council to add these life-saving protections for pregnant mothers and their unborn children by further outlawing abortion and becoming one of the next Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn.