Two Texas municipalities reject Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinances

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

The City Council of Brownfield, Texas, and the County Commissioners of Terry County, Texas, both recently rejected ordinances to declare their municipalities Sanctuaries for the Unborn.

City of Brownfield

On April 2, 2026, the City Council of Brownfield (pop. 9,779), located in West Texas, considered an “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, declaring Brownfield a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.” Councilman Ray McFarland moved to approve the ordinance, seconded by Councilman Lee Gamez. When put to a vote, Mayor Eric Horton joined Councilmembers Ray McFarland and Lee Gamez in voting “Aye,” while Councilmembers Tom Hesse, Marshall Martell, J.C. Tijerina, Vanessa Valdonado, and Paul Vasquez voted “No.” By a vote of 5-3, the council rejected the ordinance.

Four Months of Indecision

That rejection came after four months of back-and-forth between conservative and more liberal factions of the city council.

The ordinance, which sought to prohibit abortion and abortion trafficking, was first considered by the council on December 4, 2025. After much discussion, Councilman Hesse moved “to table the approval of this ordinance until it could be further reviewed and discussed in a worksession.” The motion was seconded by Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem Tijerina.

When put to a vote, Council members Tijerina, Hesse, Vasquez, Gamez, Martell, and Mayor Horton all voted “Aye” and Councilman McFarland voted “No.” By a vote of 6-1, the council tabled further consideration of the ordinance until a later date.

Shannon Thomason, who attended the meeting, commented:

Brownfield isn’t just a place on the map for me — it’s home. I grew up there, and the people, their faith, and their community spirit helped shape the person I became. Those roots stayed with me when I later served as Mayor of Big Spring, which — until Lubbock adopted its ordinance — was the largest Sanctuary City for the Unborn in Texas.

That’s why I’m grateful to the Brownfield City Council for bringing the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance forward and giving it the thoughtful, careful consideration it deserves. I respect their decision to workshop the details, and I look forward to continuing the conversation. More than anything, I look forward to the day my hometown of Brownfield joins the many Texas communities that have chosen to stand for life.

Brownfield’s neighbor, Wellman (pop. 205), adopted a similar ordinance in a unanimous vote on February 23, 2026. In adopting the measure, Wellman became the first city in Terry County to further outlaw abortion. Many were optimistic that Wellman's adoption of the ordinance would help encourage Brownfield and Terry County to do likewise.

A lack of authority

The next time the ordinance was considered by Brownfield’s City Council was on March 5, 2026.

After a brief discussion, Councilman Hesse moved to have the ordinance voted on by their citizens during the November 2026 election, seconded by Councilwoman Valdonado.

While the city council was warned that it lacked the authority to send the measure to the ballot apart from the citizen initiative process outlined in its city charter, the council acted on the advice of Brownfield City Attorney Matt Murray, who believed the council could send the measure forward on its own, apart from the citizen initiative process.

When put to a vote, Councilmembers Tijerina, Hesse, Vasquez, Valdonado, Martell, McFarland, Gamez, and Mayor Horton all voted “Aye” in favor of the action. By a vote of 8-0, the council voted to send the ordinance to the November 2026 ballot.

Then, on March 12, 2026, Mayor Horton and the Brownfield City Council received a letter from Attorney Jerad Najvar of Chambers, Adams, Backer & Wallen, LLC, in Houston, Texas. The letter read: 

While it is clear the City has authority to adopt the ordinance outright or to order an election in accordance with the initiative procedures, the City does not have the authority to simply order an election outside the initiative process.

This letter is intended to ensure that the Council is fully aware of the legal risks associated with ordering an election outside the initiative process and, importantly, the potential financial consequences to the taxpayers of Brownfield should a court later determine that the Council acted outside its lawful authority in doing so.

The full letter prompted the council to admit their vote to send the ordinance to the ballot was an invalid action and outside of their authority.

Terry County

On March 23, 2026, the Terry County Commissioners’ Court considered the county version of the ordinance, covering the unincorporated area of Terry County. While Terry County Judge Tony Serbantez appeared supportive of the ordinance, County Commissioners Myron Bovkoon, Richard Cavazos, Martin LeFevere, and Ernesto Elizardo voted 4-0 against adopting the ordinance. The vote made Terry County the second county in Texas to reject the measure, following Mason County in September 2023.

The Terry County Commissioners' vote against the ordinance did not help those on the Brownfield City Council who supported the measure at the local level.

Realizing that their March 5, 2026, vote was invalid, the Brownfield City Council returned the city ordinance to their agenda for reconsideration on April 2, 2026.

As stated earlier, the ordinance was ultimately rejected.

The Proposed Ordinances

If passed, the ordinances would have prohibited, within their respective jurisdictions:

(1) performing elective abortions and aiding or abetting elective abortions, adding additional enforcement coverage beyond that provided in state law,

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

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

(4) mailing abortion-inducing drugs into the community,

(5) criminal abortion organizations from operating in the community, and

(6) transporting the bodies of aborted babies killed by out-of-state abortion providers into the state to be disposed of as trash.

If passed, the ordinances would have been enforced the same way as the Texas Heartbeat Act: through a private enforcement mechanism allowing citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone violating the law.​

The ordinances are identical in substance to over 40 city and county ordinances passed in Texas outlawing abortion trafficking.

In August 2023, Senator Charles Perry (SD-28), Representative Dustin Burrows (HD-83), and eighteen other 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 the beginning of 2026, eight political subdivisions have passed ordinances outlawing abortion trafficking, including Hood County (pop. 61,598), Hall County (pop. 2,825), Lockney (pop. 1,988), Sterling County (pop. 1,372), Borden County (pop. 631), Matador (pop. 570), King County (pop. 265), and Wellman (pop. 205). All eight votes in favor of the measures were unanimous.

The only two political subdivisions that have rejected the measure this year have been Terry County (pop. 11,602) and Brownfield (pop. 9,799). 

All political subdivisions that considered the measure received a letter of support from Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, committing legal representation at no cost to them or their taxpayers for any litigation that may arise from the passage of the ordinances. Mitchell is one of America’s leading constitutional attorneys, arguing before the Supreme Court of the United States in high-profile cases like Trump v. Anderson and Garland v. Cargill.​

The Fight for Life Continues

​Despite the losses in Terry County and Brownfield, the fights in the county and the city are far from over.

​After the vote in Terry County, one resident who signed the online petition wrote: 

I don’t like living in a town that is voting against the stop of murder. It tells me they don’t appreciate my family living here. Brownfield… is such a small town to begin with; why not let it grow?

To do that, we need more babies born here to grow up and support the town and businesses. Such a sad story to see today that Terry County voted against it.

Speaking about her County Commissioner, the resident concluded, “He’s lost our vote now.”

​Brownfield and Terry County residents seeking to understand the ordinances their leaders rejected are encouraged to read the SCFTU Guidesheets for Terry County. Those wishing to see their leaders reconsider the measures are encouraged to sign the online petition at the Sanctuary for the Unborn Initiative website.