Dickens County, Texas, Becomes 13th County in the Nation to Outlaw Abortion

On Monday, November 10th, the Commissioners Court of Dickens County, Texas (pop. 1,725) considered an ordinance “Outlawing Abortion Within the Unincorporated Area of Dickens County, Declaring Dickens County a Sanctuary County for the Unborn.” The measure was adopted 4-1. County Judge Kevin Brendle and County Commissioners Chris Horn, Dennis Wyatt, and Mike Smith voted in favor of the measure, while County Commissioner Greg Arnold voted against the measure.

In adopting the measure, Dickens County became the 13th county in the nation and the 11th county in Texas to pass a Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance. Dickens County follows the Texas counties of: Mitchell, Goliad, Cochran, Lubbock, Dawson, Jack, Shackelford, Camp, Shelby, and Hopkins County. Dickens County is the 5th county and the 18th political subdivision to pass such a measure in 2025.

Prior to the vote, County Commissioner Greg Arnold asked if the measure could be placed on the ballot for the voters of the county to decide. County Attorney Aaron Clements shared that the laws of the State of Texas did not give Commissioners’ Courts the authority to place such a question before voters on a county-wide ballot. County Commissioner Chris Horn shared that he felt comfortable voting for the measure since the Texas Legislature gave counties the authority to do so and since it aligned with his beliefs and values.

Those values, without a doubt, are held by the majority of voters in Dickens County.

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Dickens County is an extremely conservative county in West Texas. In the 2024 Presidential  Election, 84.99% (844) of voters in Dickens County voted for Donald J. Trump. During the 2022 Republican Party Primary, voters had the opportunity to vote on proposition #5. This proposition gave voters the chance to voice their opinion if they were “In Favor” or “Against” the following statement: “Texas should enact a state constitutional amendment to defend the sanctity of innocent human life, created in the image of God, from fertilization until natural death.” In Dickens County, 85.66% (436) voted in favor of the pro-life proposition and 14.34% (73) voted against. Two years before that, during the 2018 Republican Party Primary, voters had the opportunity to vote on proposition #7. This proposition gave voters the chance to voice their opinion if they were “In Favor” or “Against” the following statement: “I believe abortion should be abolished in Texas.” In Dickens County, 69.48% (239) voted in favor of the pro-life proposition and 30.52% (105) voted against.

The Dickens Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance puts into place six provisions.

These provisions prohibit: (1) performing an elective abortion and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the unincorporated area of Dickens County, (2) elective abortions on residents of the unincorporated area of Dickens County – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) abortion trafficking through the unincorporated area of Dickens County, (4) the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into the unincorporated area of Dickens County, (5) criminal organizations from doing business inside the unincorporated area of Dickens County, and (6) the transportation and 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 unincorporated area of Dickens County.

Since the county ordinance only covers the unincorporated area of the county, if the cities of Spur (pop. 863) and Dickens (pop. 332 ) wish to have the same protections for pregnant mothers and their unborn children then they will need to pass similar ordinances written for the incorporated area of their cities.

The Dickens County Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance is enforced the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforced, through a private enforcement mechanism. This means that the law is not enforced by local law enforcement, but by private citizens filing a lawsuit against bad actors, such as: an abortionist who intends to perform an abortion on a resident of the unincorporated area of Dickens County, a company that mails abortion-inducing drugs to any household in the unincorporated area of Dickens County, abortion trafficking organizations seeking to take minors across state lines for abortions, or waste management companies transporting dead unborn babies from abortion facilities across state lines through the county for disposal in Texas landfills. While the ordinance allows for lawsuits to be filed against any of these bad actors for violating the ordinance, the ordinance is clear that no action may be taken against the pregnant woman who intends or seeks to abort her unborn child.

In addition to providing protections for pregnant mothers and their unborn children, the ordinance also educates members of the community on the Thriving Texas Families Program and the resources that can be obtained through centers listed on the Texas Pregnancy Care Network website at www.texaspregnancy.org and The Pregnancy Network website operated by Human Coalition at www.thepregnancynetwork.clinic.

Dickens County received a letter from Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, committing to represent Dickens County at no cost to the city or taxpayers for any litigation that may arise from the passage of their ordinance further outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking.

Residents in cities and counties across the nation who are interested in seeing their local government pass an enforceable ordinance are encouraged to sign the online petition from the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.

LifeNews Note: Mark Lee Dickson lives in Texas and is the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.