O’Donnell, Texas Turns into ninety fifth Metropolis in America to Ban Abortions
On Wednesday, April 9th, the City of O’Donnell, Texas (pop. 704) became the 95th city in the nation, and the 78th city in the State of Texas, to pass a Sanctuary City for the Unborn (SCFTU) ordinance banning abortion.
The “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, declaring O’Donnell a Sanctuary City for the Unborn” passed unanimously with Councilmembers Emily Acosta, Joseph Luera, Irma Ruiz, Bruce Vaughn, and Armando Arguello all voting in favor of the pro-life measure. The city, located between Lamesa (pop. 9,461) and Tahoka (pop. 2,665), is the 2nd city to have passed a SCFTU Ordinance in Lynn County and in Dawson County. O’Donnell is also the 4th city and the 9th political subdivision to pass such a measure in 2026. The O’Donnell City Council had the support of many throughout the community.
On Monday, April 6th, Turning Point USA Club America Chapter at O’Donnell High School President Lizzie Cook, along with Vice President Kyndall Halfmann and other members of their chapter’s leadership, organized a Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Interest meeting at First Baptist Church O’Donnell to educate members of the community about the importance and the necessity of the passage of the pro-life measure.
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Prior to the 5-0 vote on Wednesday, First Baptist Church O’Donnell Pastor Taylor Wood shared, “As elected officials of the city of O’Donnell, you have an historic opportunity to defend innocent women and babies from the evil of abortion and abortion trafficking by passing this ordinance. Imagine if your fourteen-year-old daughter or granddaughter was groomed and taken without your knowledge across state lines to an abortion clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Then, an abortion, paid for by Georgoe Soros money, is performed on her without your consent. After being trained to lie to you and hide what happened, she’s sent back, broken hearted, confused, and irreparably harmed. Now imagine you could pass a law to make sure no one in O’Donnell would have to go through this. You have that opportunity now.”
Pastor Wood continued, “Every single day, thousands of babies are being murdered, their mothers are left traumatized, and the abortion industry is using our roads to transport infant body parts to Texas landfills. There is no one more vulnerable, no one more defenseless, no one more voiceless, than an unborn child. There are babies in the NICU in Lubbock younger than the one being killed in New Mexico as we speak. Our state representatives are begging local city councils to help close loopholes and do everything possible to protect the sanctity of life for all Texans. Who knows, there may be unborn babies in O’Donnell right now that you will help rescue. How often do you get to pass ordinances that will literally save lives? And speaking of life, God created each one of you, and gave you one life to live. He ordained for you to be on this city council on this night, voting for this ordinance.”
The O’Donnell SCFTU Ordinance defines “abortion” as the “act of using, prescribing, administering, procuring, or selling of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the purpose to terminate the pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination by any of those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of an unborn child.”
The ordinance is clear that the term “abortion” DOES NOT INCLUDE: “In vitro fertilization or fertility treatments of any type; The use, prescription, administration, procuring, or selling of Plan B, morning-after pills, intrauterine devices, or any other type of contraception or emergency contraception; or an act performed with the purpose to: Save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child; remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion; or remove an ectopic pregnancy, the implantation of a fertilized egg or embryo outside of the uterus.”
The O’Donnell SCFTU Ordinance puts into place six provisions. These provisions prohibit: (1) performing an elective abortion and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits of O’Donnell – extending the private enforcement mechanism found in the Texas Heartbeat Act from the point of a detectable heartbeat to the point of conception, (2) prohibits elective abortions on residents of O’Donnell, regardless of where the abortion takes place – allowing for private lawsuits filed in the District Courts of Texas against any abortionist or abortion facility in violation of this provision – even if the abortion facility is located in New Mexico or Colorado, (3) prohibits abortion trafficking through the City of O’Donnell – allowing for lawsuits to be filed against abortion traffickers attempting to traffic pregnant mothers through the City of O’Donnell for elective abortions outside the State of Texas, (4) prohibits the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into the City of O’Donnell – extending the private enforcement mechanism found in the Texas Heartbeat Act to apply to abortion-drug trafficking, (5) prohibits criminal organizations engaged in violating the federal Comstock Act from doing business inside the city limits of the City of O’Donnell – allowing for lawsuits against violators of the law, and (6) prohibits the transportation or 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 City of O’Donnell – allowing for lawsuits against any waste management companies involved in the practice of treating babies as trash in violation of the O’Donnell SCFTU Ordinance.
The ordinance states, “Any person, other than the city of O’Donnell, and any officer or employee of the city, has standing to bring and may bring a civil action against any person or entity that: violates any provision” of this ordinance. The ordinance has a six-year statute of limitations. O’Donnell’s Ordinance is clear that “a civil action . . . may not be brought against the woman upon whom the abortion was performed or induced or attempted to be performed or induced in violation of this ordinance, or against a pregnant woman who intends or seeks to abort her unborn child in violation of this ordinance.”
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 and The Pregnancy Network websites.
The City of O’Donnell received a letter from Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, committing to represent the City of O’Donnell at no cost to the city or taxpayers for any litigation that may arrive from the passage of their ordinance further outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking.
Other cities in Lynn County that could follow the city of O’Donnell (pop. 704) are the cities of Tahoka (pop. 2,665) and Wilson (pop. 504). Over five years ago, on November 9, 2020, the Wilson City Council considered a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance. At that time, only 16 cities had passed such measures. The vote, presided over by Mayor Randy Dunn, failed in a 3-1 vote. Councilmembers David Maldonado, Fred Hendricks, and Helen Stephenson all voted against the measure with Councilmember Pat Cates being the sole vote in favor of the measure. Since 62 cities and 19 counties have passed the measure in Texas since Wilson rejected it, many are optimistic that the outcome now would be much different now than before. Lynn County (pop. 5,596) could also pass a ‘Sanctuary County for the Unborn’ ordinance covering the unincorporated area of Lynn County.
Located south of Lubbock County, Lynn County is a conservative county where 84.73% (2,175) of voters cast their ballots for Donald J. Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election. Only 14.45% (371) cast their ballots for Kamala Harris. When “pro-life” has been on the ballot, the majority of voters in Republican Party primaries in Lynn County have voted pro-life. 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 Lynn County, out of 957 votes, 70.22% (672) voted in favor of the pro-life proposition, while 29.78% (285) voted against. 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 Lynn County, out of 686 votes, 89.65% (615) voted in favor of the pro-life proposition, while 10.35% (71) voted against. During the 2026 Republican Party Primary, voters in the Republican Party Primary had the opportunity to vote on two pro-life propositions. Proposition #4 stated, “Texas should require its public schools to teach that life begins at fertilization.” In Lynn County, out of 777 votes, 90.60% (704) voted in favor of the pro-life proposition, while 9.40% (73) voted against. Proposition #5 stated, “Texas should ban gender, sexuality, and reproductive clinics and services in K-12 schools.” Out of 792 votes, 93.18% (738) voted in favor of the pro-life proposition, while 6.82% (54) voted against.
Meanwhile, in Lynn County’s 2026 Democratic Party Primary, almost every Democrat Primary voter cast their ballot in support of abortion. Proposition #3 gave voters the chance to voice their opinion “Yes” or “No” on the following statement: “Texans should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions, including reproductive rights.” Out of 138 votes, 98.55% (136) of those voting in the Democrat Primary voted in favor of the pro-abortion proposition, while 1.45% (2) voted against.
Residents in cities and counties across the nation who are interested in seeing their local governments pass enforceable ordinances prohibiting abortion 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.
