Two more Texas cities complete citizen initiatives to outlaw abortion trafficking

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

While Brownfield, Texas (pop. 9,976), is the latest city in Texas to outlaw abortion trafficking, it may not be the latest for long.

Residents in two other cities have successfully completed citizen-initiative petition processes, as outlined in their Home Rule city charters. Both cities are located on major roads used for abortion trafficking outside the State of Texas.

Muleshoe, Texas

On Monday, April 27, a Citizen Initiative Petition proposing an Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, Declaring Muleshoe a Sanctuary City for the Unborn was filed with Muleshoe City Secretary Tamara Cain.

On Friday, May 1, Secretary Cain shared, “Out of 238 signatures collected on this petition, 164 were qualified.” The Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance will be considered at Muleshoe’s next city council meeting on Monday, May 11, 2026.

J.C. Carpenter, an ambassador with the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative, is one of many pro-life advocates who helped the citizens of Muleshoe reach their goal. Carpenter shared:

"I wish abortion had been illegal when I ended the life of my first child when I was 18. Had abortion been illegal then, I would not have done it. I do not believe the family member I trusted would have suggested it either, had it been illegal.”

While abortion is outlawed in the State of Texas, there are no gestational limits on abortion in the State of New Mexico, which is less than 25 miles from the City of Muleshoe.

Carpenter continued:

“I have prayed at abortion businesses in New Mexico and seen the Texas license plates for myself. I believe Texas cities and counties should do everything possible to protect residents and those who are traveling through their communities from the horror and atrocity of abortion.”

On U.S. Hwy 84, a major road running through Muleshoe, a billboard facing Texas residents driving towards New Mexico reads, “Turn around. Texas laws protect you and your baby. Abortion kills.”

In a June 23, 2023, story from KUT News, abortion provider Amy Hagstrom Miller shared, “Nearly all of the appointments made at Whole Woman’s Health in Albuquerque have been made by Texans.”

The passage of Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinances outlawing abortion trafficking, like the one Muleshoe is considering on Monday, does appear to be making a difference.

In an interview with National Public Radio published January 23, 2024, it was reported that 85% of abortion provider Alan Braid’s business at Alamo Women's in Albuquerque, New Mexico, comes from the State of Texas. Braid told the news outlet that abortion travel bans like the one passed in Lubbock County were having an impact on clinics throughout New Mexico.

According to Braid, “They’re having higher no-show rates because people are afraid to drive through Lubbock..." as a result of such measures.

On September 10, 2024, The Texas Observer reported:

The chilling effect has already deterred patients. Amy Hagstrom Miller, who ran a network of abortion clinics in Texas before relocating her Whole Woman’s Health centers to New Mexico and other states after Roe was overturned, said she has already seen the impact on her patients. When news broke that Lubbock County would be considering an abortion travel ban, every patient from Dallas canceled their appointments at the Albuquerque clinic.

The story goes on to report:

Andrea Gallegos—who helps manage two clinics in New Mexico after she relocated from Texas last year with her father, longtime abortion provider Dr. Alan Braid—echoed the observation. The clinics, whose Texas-based patients make up 85 percent of their clientele, have experienced higher than average no-show rates because people are afraid to drive through Lubbock...

On Tuesday, March 12, 2026, the NM Sentinel released an undercover video from November 26, 2025. The video was filmed inside Valley Abortion Group -- a late-term abortion facility in Albuquerque that provides abortions up to 34 weeks.

In the video, the abortion facility employee states, “90% of our patients are from Texas. It’s like, rare to see even New Mexicans here... So it’s a majority, because it’s like a whole country over there."

Carpenter shared:

“I know firsthand women trafficked into New Mexico for abortions who were returned to Texas traumatized, wounded, and negatively impacted. I pray that Muleshoe and every other Texas city and county would love Texas mothers and their unborn children enough to make the right decision and protect them with these lifesaving measures.”

In August 2023, twenty 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.​

Ranger, Texas

On Monday, May 1, a Citizen Initiative Petition proposing an Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, Declaring Ranger a Sanctuary City for the Unborn was filed with Ranger City Manager Charlie Archer. The Petitioner’s Committee initiating the ordinance included: Gary Wayne McDaniel, Sylvanus G Underwood, Ruby Page Underwood, Blanca Estela Vasquez, and Jack Steven Jackson, Sr.

On the same day the petition was filed, Archer notified the petitioners that they had reached the required number of qualified signatures, as determined by the Ranger City Charter. Ranger’s ordinance will be considered at their next city council meeting on May 11, 2026, at the same time as the City of Muleshoe will be considering its ordinance.

While U.S. Hwy 84 is the major route used for abortion trafficking going through Muleshoe, Interstate-20 is the major route used for abortion trafficking going through the City of Ranger.

The Ordinances

The proposed ordinances prohibit:

(1) performing an elective abortion and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits of Muleshoe / Ranger,

(2) elective abortions on residents of each Muleshoe / Ranger – regardless of where the abortion takes place,

(3) abortion trafficking through each city,

(4) the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into Muleshoe / Ranger,

(5) criminal organizations from doing business inside the city limits of Muleshoe / Ranger, 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 of Muleshoe / Ranger.

Since August 2023, 46 political subdivisions have passed ordinances identical in substance to the proposed Muleshoe and Ranger Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances. The proposed ordinances are identical in substance to all 11 ordinances passed by Texas cities and counties in 2026 and all 29 ordinances passed by Texas cities and counties in 2025.

Citizens wishing to see their city or county pass an ordinance outlawing abortion and declaring their city or county a Sanctuary for the Unborn are encouraged to sign the online petition on the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website.