Texas County Becomes 15th in Nation to Ban Abortions

On Monday, December 8th, the Commissioners Court of Motley County, Texas (pop. 1,063) considered an ordinance “Outlawing Abortion Within the Unincorporated Area of Motley County, Declaring Motley County a Sanctuary County for the Unborn.”

After a presentation from Right to Life Across Texas, the measure was adopted in a unanimous 5-0 vote by County Judge Jim Meador and Commissioners Douglass Campbell, Roegan Cruse, Franklin Jameson, and Timmy Brooks.

In adopting the measure, Motley County became the 15th county in the nation and the 13th county in Texas to pass a Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance. Motley County follows the Texas counties of: Mitchell, Goliad, Cochran, Lubbock, Dawson, Jack, Shackelford, Camp, Shelby, Hopkins, Dickens and Howard. Motley County is the 7th county and the 22nd political subdivision to pass such a measure in 2025.

Motley County is a conservative county where 94.21% (612) of voters cast their ballot for the Republican candidate for president in 2024. The Democrat candidate only received 5.38% (35) and 0.46% (3) voted for Third Party candidates. When given the opportunity, the majority of Republicans in their county have voted for life. During the 2018 Republican Party Primary, voters in the Republican Party Primary 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 Motley County, out of 304 votes, 83.55% (254) voted in favor of the pro-life proposition and 16.45% (50) voted against the pro-life proposition. During the 2022 Republican Party Primary, voters in the Republican Party Primary 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 Motley County, out of 263 votes, 93.92% (247) voted in favor of the pro-life proposition and only 6.08% (16) voted against the pro-life proposition.

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The Motley County Sanctuary County for the Unborn (SCFTU) 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 Motley County, (2) elective abortions on residents of the unincorporated area of Motley County – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) abortion trafficking through the unincorporated area of Motley County, (4) the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into the unincorporated area of Motley County, (5) criminal organizations from doing business inside the unincorporated area of Motley 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 Motley County.

The Motley 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 Motley County, a company that mails abortion-inducing drugs to any household in the unincorporated area of Motley County, abortion trafficking organizations seeking to take minors across state lines for abortions without parental consent, 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.

Motley County received a letter from Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, committing to represent Motley 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.