Lamesa, Texas to Consider Outlawing Abortion Trafficking

On Tuesday, November 17, 2026, the City of Lamesa, Texas (pop. 9,461) will be considering an “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, Declaring Lamesa a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.” The council’s consideration of the measure has been long awaited. The first person from Lamesa to sign the online petition expressing interest in the measure was Brandon Smith, who signed on November 13, 2019. At that time, Smith wrote, “I want to see abortion outlawed in Lamesa because I’m against the slaughter of innocent life.”

The very next day, Smith and an ambassador with the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative met with Stevens. By the early afternoon, an ordinance was drafted specifically for the City of Lamesa and was emailed to Mayor Josh Stevens. Within hours, Mayor Stevens responded that he had passed the ordinance along “for the initial review” to the city attorney and the city manager. Both said they wanted to hear the ordinance later. Despite the delay, residents throughout Lamesa were anxious to see their city become one of the next Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn.

Over the next several years, resident after resident signed the online petition expressing their desire to see abortion outlawed in their city. Jamie Proctor said she wanted to see abortion outlawed in Lamesa because she believed “abortion is the murder of innocent lives.” Lavenda Butchee’s reasoning was the same, stating, “It is murder.” Ramona Ferguson said she wanted to see the practice outlawed because, “there are so many people who struggle with infertility and those babies deserve to be loved.”

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Darby Hatchett said she wanted to see abortion outlawed “because there are other options out there.” Hatchett continued, “People make adult decisions to have sex, so they should make the responsible adult decision to take care of the baby or give the baby up for adoption so another family can care for and raise that child.” Hatchett concluded, “We live in a world where sometimes the decision is out of our hands. Rape is a real thing, and sometimes babies come from that. It’s a harsh reality, but taking a baby’s life shouldn’t be an option. Beautiful people come out of horrible situations. All lives matter!”

Joshua Freitag said that he wanted to see abortion outlawed in Lamesa because, “there is no excuse for aborting an unborn child.” Freitag continued, “Despite the reasons why a woman may get pregnant, God can work in many different ways. Many families are dying to have children and cannot and would be willing to give an unwanted child a home. Many other people’s greatest earthly blessings are their own children, and lives can be changed through these children.” Freitag concluded, “Yes, we should support women that are in the darkest points in their lives making this decision, but with love and with a direction toward God and His purpose in hopes that through Him they would keep the child.”

After several years, and after more than 80 Texas cities adopted the measure, Lamesa residents sought passage of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance through the citizen-initiative petition process outlined in the Lamesa City Charter. A total of 418 signatures were collected as part of a successful citizen-initiative petition. The petition was filed with the City of Lamesa on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Ten days later, on Friday, September 18, City Manager Aron Kulhavy said the petition “has no deficiencies in its submittal,” “meets the minimum threshold” outlined in the Lamesa City Charter, and that the City of Lamesa would “be proceeding accordingly.”

On Tuesday, October 20, the Lamesa City Council accepted the petition and called for a public hearing, as required by the Lamesa City Charter, in a vote of 6-1. Mayor Hayden Davis and Councilmembers Albert Martinez (District 2), Pete Capetillo (District 3), Monica Castro (District 4), Bobby Gonzales (District 5), and James Grayson (District 6) all voted in favor. In contrast, Councilmember Joseph Smith (District 1) was the only council member to vote against. To be adopted, the proposed ordinance must survive two readings. The first reading will be Tuesday, November 17, 2026. If the proposed ordinance does not survive either reading, the measure will go before voters at the May 1, 2027 election.

Following the formality vote, Lamesa resident Liza Pate shared, “I’ve been a resident of Lamesa most of my life. I’d like to see the Lamesa City Council adopt the ordinance making Lamesa a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.” Lamesa resident Linda Orr felt the same way. Orr shared, “I was born in Dawson County. I have lived here 90% of my 75 years. The improvement of our community is important to me.” Orr continued, “During my first pregnancy, I was advised to terminate my pregnancy because of the high fatality risk. My daughter from that pregnancy is a healthy 55-year-old. I feel like adopting a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance would only improve the moral fiber of Lamesa. In God I trust. I hope our city’s leaders will do the same and vote for life.”

With a new pro-abortion and Democrat administration going into office in January 2027, the ordinance being sent to the ballot during an election under Democrat reign could make such an election the most controversial and contentious ballot measure on abortion in the history of Texas and have statewide implications. Many Lamesa residents, like Liza Pate and Linda Orr,  are hopeful the measure will just be adopted on first and second reading by the Lamesa City Council – while Texas is still under a pro-life and Republican administration.

If adopted by the Lamesa City Council, the ordinance will: (1) Prohibit elective abortions and the aiding or abetting of elective abortions within the City of Lamesa by extending the private enforcement mechanism of the Texas Heartbeat Act from the point of detectable heartbeat to the point of fertilization; (2) Prohibit elective abortions on residents of the City of Lamesa – regardless of where the abortion takes place; (3) Prohibit abortion traffickers and abortion trafficking organizations from trafficking women, including minors, through the City of Lamesa for abortions across state lines; (4) Prohibit abortion-inducing drugs from being mailed into the City of Lamesa by the creation of a localized private right of action, serving as an additional deterrent against out-of-state abortion pill distributors; (5) Recognize 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 Lamesa; and (6) Prohibit Texas waste management companies from transporting through the City of Lamesa 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.

The ordinance would be enforced the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforced, through a private enforcement mechanism that allows private citizens to sue any individual or organization for violating the ordinance. The ordinance does not, however, allow any action to be taken against the mother of the unborn child. According to the proposed Lamesa Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance: “Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this section 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.”

The Lamesa Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance is identical in substance to the ordinance outlawing abortion and declaring Dawson County a Sanctuary County for the Unborn. The Dawson County SCFTU Ordinance, which covers the unincorporated area of Dawson County, was adopted in a unanimous 4-0 vote on December 18, 2023, by Commissioners Mark Shofner, Ryan Webb, Nicky Goode, and Russell Cox, with Judge Foy O’Brien presiding. When asked to weigh in on the Dawson County Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance and how the measure was enforced, Dawson County Attorney Steven Payson shared, “It’s just a way of saying, ‘Don’t do it in our county.’” Payson continued, “It’s a great way of saying, ‘That’s all, Boys, go get them,’ but it’s somebody else’s fight. We don’t have any risk. To me, it’s really a non-issue when it comes to the county’s possible liability. It’s not a criminal law. It’s a lawsuit.” The City of O’Donnell adopted the ordinance in a unanimous 5-0 vote on April 8, 2026, and the City of Ackerly adopted the ordinance in a unanimous 6-0 vote on December 1, 2020.

In August 2023, 20 Texas Senators and Representatives penned a letter supporting cities and counties passing such measures across the State of Texas. The letter read: “While it is true that abortion is outlawed in the entire State of Texas, from the point of conception, our work is far from over. Right now, throughout the State of Texas, women are being trafficked across our borders by abortion traffickers funded by abortion trafficking organizations still operating in our state. As a result, these women are being abused and traumatized by abortion across our Texas–New Mexico border and sent back to Texas for our cities and counties to deal with the aftermath taking place in our homes, our schools, our churches, and our hospitals.”

The letter continued, “The Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinances seek to protect these institutions by putting safeguards in place to protect men, women, and their children for years to come. These ordinances, which seek to close as many loopholes as possible, do not penalize women who seek or undergo abortions, but place the penalty on the party who most deserves it – the abortionist and the industry profiting from the unjust procedure, including abortion traffickers.”

Since June 2019, 126 political subdivisions (102 cities and 24 counties) have passed local measures outlawing abortion throughout the United States, including 107 (85 cities and 22 counties) in Texas. Since August 2023, 56 political subdivisions have passed ordinances identical in substance to the proposed Lamesa Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance.

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

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