Texas Town Becomes 102nd City in America to Ban Abortions

Another city in Texas has adopted an ordinance banning abortions. On Monday, November 9, 2026, the City Council of Plains, Texas (pop. 1,355) reconsidered an ordinance adding further prohibitions on elective abortions and abortion trafficking, as well as declaring the City of Plains a ‘Sanctuary City for the Unborn.’

While the council first considered the measure at its meeting on Thursday, October 15, 2026, it had been tabled for one month for further review by the city council and greater community input.

After much discussion at the November meeting, Mayor Rodney Guetersloh asked the council for a motion. Councilman Jaime Williamson moved to adopt the measure, with Mayor Pro-Tem Steven Lopez seconding. The vote was 4-1. Councilmembers Karen Redman-Williams and Justin Etsy joined Williamson and Lopez in voting for the measure, while Councilwoman Cynthia Thomason voted against it.

After the vote, Councilwoman Thomason made it unmistakably clear that she is 100% pro-life and against abortion, but was not comfortable voting for the ordinance due, in part, to how the law was designed to be enforced.

Instead of being enforced by local law enforcement or city-administered fines like most ordinances are enforced, the Plains Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance created a private right of action allowing for private citizens to file lawsuits against an abortionist, an abortion facility, or any abortion trafficking organization or individual abortion trafficker in violation of the ordinance. The ordinance does not, however, allow any action to be taken against the mother of the unborn child. This is the same type of enforcement, private civil enforcement, that is used in the Texas Heartbeat Act.

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The Plains Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance:

(1) Prohibits elective abortions and the aiding or abetting of elective abortions within the City of Plains by extending the private enforcement mechanism of the Texas Heartbeat Act from the point of detectable heartbeat to the point of fertilization; (2) Prohibits elective abortions on residents of the City of Plains – regardless of where the abortion takes place – allowing private lawsuits to be filed against out-of-state abortionists, abortion facilities, and those who aid them; (3) Prohibits abortion traffickers and abortion trafficking organizations from trafficking women, including minors, through the City of Plains for abortions across state lines, allowing for lawsuits against in-state abortion trafficking organizations and individual abortion traffickers; (4) Prohibits abortion-inducing drugs from being mailed into the City of Plains by allowing for lawsuits as an additional deterrent against out-of-state abortion pill distributors; (5) Recognizes any organization involved in the mailing and receiving of abortion inducing drugs and abortion paraphernalia as criminal abortion organizations in violation of the federal Comstock Act and prohibit such organizations from doing business within the City of Plains and allowing for private civil suits against such entities; and (6) Prohibits Texas waste management companies from transporting through the City of Plains the remains of dead babies that have been aborted at abortion facilities outside the State of Texas and brought back into Texas for disposal as trash in landfills, allowing citizens to file lawsuits against any Texas waste management company violating the ordinance.

The ordinance also educates about the state-fundedThriving Texas Families Program and the services provided through pregnancy care providers partnered with theTexas Pregnancy Care Network andThe Pregnancy Network.

The ordinance states:

“In addition to the life-affirming services which are already being provided by organizations in Yoakum County, the Thriving Texas Families program (also known as the Texas Alternatives to Abortion program) is in place, which promotes childbirth and provides support services to pregnant mothers and their families, adoptive parents, and parents whose lives have been affected by miscarriage or loss of a child. The services provided as part of the Thriving Texas Families program include: counseling, mentoring, educational information and resources including classes on pregnancy, parenting, adoption, life skills and employment preparedness; material assistance covering basic needs, such as car seats, clothing, diapers, and formula; care coordination help through referrals to government assistance programs and other social services programs; call center for information and appointment scheduling; and housing and support services through maternity homes. The program is available to any Texas resident who is: a pregnant woman; the biological father of an unborn child; the biological parent of a child who is 36 months of age or younger; an adoptive parent of an unborn child; an approved adoptive parent of an unborn child; a former participant who has experienced the loss of a child; a parent or legal guardian of a pregnant minor who is a program client; the parent, legal guardian, or adult caregiver of a child who is 36 months of age or younger; and a parent who experienced a miscarriage or loss of a child not more than 90 days before the parent begins participation in the services offered through the program. See Tex. Health and Safety Code § 54.004. More information about how one can benefit from these services made possible by the Thriving Texas Families Program is available at the Texas Pregnancy Care Network website atwww.texaspregnancy.org or The Pregnancy Network website operated by Human Coalition atwww.thepregnancynetwork.clinic.”

Due to the outcome of the November midterms, the passage of the Plains Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance comes at a time when Texas is transitioning from being a Republican state with pro-life leadership to a Democrat-led state with pro-abortion leadership.

While Plains City Council ended Monday standing in favor of protecting pregnant mothers and their unborn children, Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives started their day filing measures for next year’s legislative session to dismantle pro-life protections across the State of Texas.

Representative Donna Howard filed House Bill 126, titled, “Relating to repealing or replacing medically unnecessary and outdated health care restrictions.” According to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, “HB 126 would repeal numerous Texas laws regulating or restricting abortion services, including the state’s abortion ban, parental consent requirements, abortion facility licensing provisions, and various procedural and reporting requirements. The bill would also repeal restrictions on gender transition procedures and treatments for minors, including related prohibitions on public funding. Additional provisions would revise the statutory definition of abortion and remove associated physician disciplinary restrictions.”

Another Democrat bill that has been filed during the prefiling period is House Bill 948, titled, “Relating to the repeal of certain laws regulating abortion and the construction of abortion statutes.” The bill, filed by Representative Samantha Lopez-Resendez, would impact city and county efforts to adopt local ordinances outlawing abortion.

According to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, “HB 948 would repeal several Texas statutes regulating abortion, including Chapter 170A of the Health and Safety Code, which establishes the state’s abortion prohibition and associated penalties. The legislation would also repeal Subchapter H of Chapter 171, commonly associated with the Texas Heartbeat Act and its private civil enforcement mechanism. Additional repeals would include provisions governing the construction of abortion statutes, certain procedural requirements, and historical abortion restrictions contained in the Revised Statutes.”

Representative Samantha Lopez-Resendez also filed House Joint Resolution 68, titled, “Proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the legislature from restricting an individual’s access to abortion and related health care.” The Texas Public Policy Foundation states, “HJR 68 would propose an amendment to Article III of the Texas Constitution prohibiting the Legislature from restricting an individual’s access to abortion or related health care when the individual chooses to obtain those services in consultation with a licensed physician.”

While dangerous pro-abortion legislation like HB 126, HB 948, and HJR 68 would have never had a chance of passing the Texas House of Representatives before, with a Democrat majority set to take over the Texas House, the passage of such bills through the lower chamber is almost guaranteed. Thankfully, with a Republican majority still in the Texas Senate, the higher chamber can ensure bills like HB 126, HB 948, and HJR 68 never reach the incoming pro-abortion governor’s desk.

Since the Texas House and Senate will no longer have the votes to move forward legislation addressing loopholes in Texas’ pro-life laws for the foreseeable future, ordinances like the one adopted by the Plains City Council may be more important now than ever in the effort to protect pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the tragedy and the violence of abortion.

Citizens wanting to see their city or county pass an ordinance to further protect pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the tragedy of abortion, regardless of what state they are in, are encouraged to sign the online petition.

LifeNews Note: Mark Lee Dickson lives in Texas and is the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.