On Thursday, October 9, 2025 the Queen City, Texas (pop. 1,476) City Council considered a Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance further prohibiting abortion and abortion trafficking in Queen City. This was the first time the full council heard a presentation on the measure, and the second time Mayor Harold Martin, Councilman Robert Ivey, and Councilman William Quarles heard a presentation on the measure. At both meetings Cass County Republican Chairwoman Carolyn Lance and State Republican Executive Committeeman (SD-1) Paul Hale were in attendance to support the pro-life measure.
At the council meeting, Councilman Charles Mathus asked if there was a petition with a list of names of those who had wanted the measure brought before the city council. While no such petition existed for Queen City, several in the community had verbally expressed interest in wanting to see the measure move forward in their city and citing their community’s strong pro-life voting record as an argument in support of moving forward. In 2022, Republican Party Primary voters in the Queen City voting precinct in Cass County had the opportunity to vote on Proposition #5, which stated, “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 the Queen City voting precinct, 93.59% voted in favor of the propositional statement. The Queen City voting precinct number was just above the cumulative number for the county.
During the meeting, Councilman Bob Ivey raised two concerns. The first concern surrounded the letter given by Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, whereby Mitchell committed “to represent the City of Queen City, at no cost to the city or its taxpayers, in any litigation that results from a decision to enact this ordinance.” Councilman Ivey argued that Mitchell was not bound by such a letter and could always change his mind. The second concern was that the City of Queen City could be sued for passing the proposed ordinance. While it is true that cities could be sued for passing Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinances, the last lawsuit that had been filed against a city in Texas was when Planned Parenthood sued the City of Lubbock in May of 2021. The lawsuit lasted two weeks and resulted in a victory for the City of Lubbock in federal district court and the end of Planned Parenthood committing elective abortions in the City of Lubbock.
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Since Lubbock passed their ordinance, over 50 cities and counties in Texas of varying sizes have passed ordinances outlawing abortion – and not one of them has been sued for the passage of their ordinance. Those 52 cities and counties include: Abernathy (pop. 2,839), Poynor (pop. 314), Levelland (pop. 14,582), Sundown (pop. 1,397), Sterling City (pop. 888), Centerville (pop. 892), Eastland (pop. 3,970), Leona (pop. 175), Crawford (pop. 733), Brownsboro (pop. 1,036), Impact (pop. 20), Nazareth (pop. 311), Cisco (pop. 3,913), Anson (pop. 2,556), Slaton (pop. 6,235), Jewett (pop. 1,250), Shallowater (pop. 2,613), Lindale (pop. 6,730), Marquez (pop. 313), Normangee (pop. 778), Athens (pop. 13,121), Abilene (pop. 124,407), San Angelo (pop. 101,612), Plainview (pop. 22,343), Odessa (pop. 125,413), Little River-Academy (pop. 2,048), Mitchell County (pop. 9,070), Goliad County (pop. 7,012), Cochran County (pop. 2,547), Lubbock County (pop. 317,561), Dawson County (pop. 12,130), Midlothian (pop. 38,635), Muenster (pop. 1,556), Jack County (pop. 8,875), Ovilla (pop. 4,709), Mullin (pop. 196), Shackelford County (pop. 3,105), Moran (pop. 285), Lueders (pop. 346), Avinger (pop. 371), Camp County (pop. 13,094), Big Sandy (pop. 1,345), Hooks (pop. 2,769), Shelby County (pop. 24,192), Douglassville (pop. 229), Como (pop. 758), Talco (pop. 492), Annona (pop. 288), Clyde (pop. 4,051), New Boston (pop. 4,686), Avery (pop. 462), and Hopkins County (pop. 38,784).
Despite this information being presented to Councilman Ivey, the councilman insisted that he would feel better if their attorney reviewed the proposed ordinance and gave his opinion before they took a vote. Councilman William Quarles did not appear to share the same hesitancy. Commenting on the reputation and qualifications of Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, Councilman Quarles appeared ready to vote on the measure. In the end, the city council decided to table the measure until the next city council meeting on November 13, 2025, in order to give time for Queen City Attorney Butch Dunbar to review the proposed ordinance.
Dunbar also serves as the city attorney for the City of Hooks. In July, the Hooks City Council voted 5-0 to outlaw abortion and abortion trafficking in the City of Hooks. The unanimous vote made the City of Hooks the 76th city in the nation to pass an ordinance further outlawing abortion, declaring their city a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. Since then, nine political subdivisions have passed ordinances outlawing abortion.
If passed, the proposed Queen City Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance would: (1) prohibit performing elective abortions and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits (2) prohibit elective abortions on residents of the city – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) prohibit abortion trafficking, (4) prohibit abortion-inducing drugs, (5) prohibit criminal organizations from doing business inside the city limits, and (6) prohibit the transport and disposal of the remains of unborn children killed by an elective abortion by abortion providers outside of the State of Texas from being brought through or disposed of in the city.
The proposed Queen City Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance would be enforceable the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforceable, through a private enforcement mechanism allowing private citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone in violation of the law.
A total of 83 cities and 12 counties across the United States have passed ordinances further protecting pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the violence of abortion. Citizens who want to see their city or county pass an ordinance further outlawing abortion are encouraged to sign the online petition at the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website.
LifeNews Note: Mark Lee Dickson lives in Texas and is the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.
