Jayme Lozano Carver (Texas Tribune)
This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune.
Anti-abortion activists in Amarillo, Texas, say they have collected enough signatures (more than 10,000) to force the city council to reexamine a policy banning out-of-state residents from using local streets to access abortions.
Organizers submitted a petition to the city last week.
In fact, if they are successful in collecting the required number of signatures (the city secretary must verify the signatures), the City Council should take up the matter early this summer.
But the final decision may rest with Texas Panhandle city voters. The council may accept, reject or amend the proposed ordinance. Depending on the council's decision, residents who led the signature collection could request that the issue be forwarded to voters.
Amarillo stands out from other conservative areas of the state. More than a dozen cities and counties have passed similar policies, including Lubbock County, about 120 miles south of Amarillo. According to a tally by prohibition supporters.
The Amarillo City Council first took up the issue in October, one day after Lubbock County commissioners attended. Approved The ordinance makes it the largest county to do so. In December, Congress sent a signal They were willing to pass ordinances focused on restricting access to abortion-inducing drugs for medical abortions and regulating the disposal of remains. That version of the policy would have completely eliminated the travel ban, a key element of anti-abortion advocates, since Interstates 40 and 27 run through the city.
Legal scholars said The so-called abortion travel ban has questionable enforcement mechanisms, making it more of a ceremonial declaration than a legally binding decree.
In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Mayor Cole Stanley said Amarillo has become a trophy for both sides of the issue.
Stanley has previously expressed concerns about the ordinance being misrepresented to residents and believes the same may be true in the petition.
“I don’t think many of the people who signed the petition have read it,” Stanley said. “I think they were asked, ‘Are you pro-life or pro-choice?’ And I don’t think it goes any further than that for most signatures.”
The bill being pushed by supporters of the original ordinance would not punish pregnant women seeking abortions. However, anyone who “aids and abets” the proceedings may be subject to a private lawsuit from another citizen. This is the ordinance's only enforcement mechanism, creating a system where neighbors can turn on each other to collect compensation. Some council members expressed opposition to the idea in previous meetings.
Stanley said the ordinance drafted by anti-abortion activists does not reflect local law. He said the council drafted a document consistent with local and state policies.
“These two documents are very similar,” Stanley said. “The biggest difference is that there is no violation of civil liberties when driving on the road or traveling between states.”
Stanley said he hopes the council can propose their own ordinance, which supporters of the ban will agree to, withdrawing the petition. This will stop the debate before it goes to the polls.
Amarillo resident Jana May, who started the petition process, said she is willing to work with the City Council on the issue.
“I would like to see what they want in the deal and sit down and have a conversation about that,” May said. “It could be something as simple as using a different word here and there.”
May said she was praying for God to change the hearts of members of parliament and hoped parliament would approve the ban.
Supporters worked until the last minute to gather signatures, May said. These efforts have been amplified by out-of-town anti-abortion activists, including Mark Lee Dickson, executive director of Right to Life of East Texas. May said Dickson brought family members from other cities to get more signatures in time. Billboards conveying messages such as “Stop Biden, ban abortion trafficking” and “Stop Soros, ban abortion trafficking” were also seen throughout the city.
Dickson said Amarillo is a key battleground in the national fight over abortion access. lawsuit between the Hippocratic Medical Association and the FDA over access to mifepristone.
“When that case was filed here, Amarillo was ground zero,” Dickson said. “So people all over America are paying attention to what’s going on here.”
Fariha Samad of the Amarillo Reproductive Freedom Alliance disagrees and says the fight is taking place at the local level. Advocacy groups have been fighting the ordinance since it was first introduced and held a meeting Monday night. It was originally scheduled to be a celebration event for the group because they didn't think there would be enough signatures to submit to the petition.
Now the group is preparing for the next part of the battle.
“We will be meeting with city officials and talking to the base to let them know this is not the end,” Samad said. “I hope Congress will vote with its conscience when it knows the travel ban is wrong.”
Tracking URL: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/30/amarillo-texas-abortion-travel-ban-ordinance/
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