“Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
In a 4 to 3 vote, Abilene leadership punted the ordinance to November. The unusual vote may run afoul of the city charter.
The "Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn" initiative has evolved substantially to present Abilene with one of the strictest ordinances yet.
The ordinance that passed is broader and more substantial than the proposal the council rejected two years ago.
State politicians Rep. Dustin Burrows and Sen. Charles Perry both encouraged passage of the ban. Burrows spoke at the meeting.
The proposed ordinance is no longer in the council’s hands at this point. The citizens of San Angelo will pass or reject it at the ballot box.
If enough of the signatures are certified, the process will require the Abilene City Council to consider the local abortion ban.
Citizens supporting a local abortion ban say San Angelo leaders decided the proposal's fate before the outward political process began.
Over the protests of residents that led the petition effort, the San Angelo City Council effectively set the vote for November, not May.
Catch up on the week's hottest stories in Texas politics with the reporting team at The Texan.
Insiders say Abilene's city attorney has cautioned the mayor about the proposed ban, a common trend among even the reddest Texas towns.
The local ban passed by a citywide vote after the council, wary of litigation, rejected it. Now, it's weathered a Planned Parenthood lawsuit.
