Abortion is a big issue about little people, and in a bigger swath of America, it’s being legislated on a small scale.
Joaquin, Texas, voted in September to ban abortion within the city limits, becoming the fourth city in the state to designate itself a “sanctuary city” for the unborn. The Joaquin City Council followed the precedent set by three of its East Texas neighbors: Naples, Omaha, and Waskom.
Waskom’s ordinance, noticed by the national media because an all-male city council passed it, declares Roe v. Wade a “lawless and illegitimate act of judicial usurpation” and defines “surgical or chemical abortion” as the “purposeful and intentional ending of a human life,” classifying it as “murder ‘with malice aforethought.’”
The Naples and Omaha ordinances, however, clarify that public enforcement of the abortion ban cannot go into effect until the Supreme Court overrules Roe and its follow-up ruling on Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
“Even though the ordinances can’t be enforced until federal law is changed, they serve as a deterrent,” Rebecca Parma, a legislative associate at Texas Right to Life, told Vice News.
Such measures are mostly symbolic, according to the Texas Observer, as abortion clinics don’t exist in these towns anyway.
Regardless, similar “sanctuary city” ordinances have been cropping up in conservative regions across the country. Cities in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Utah have also declared themselves sanctuary cities for unborn children and mothers alike.
Even if these little laws are not enforceable, they send a big message about popular rule versus federal courts and also about little lives.
—By Kaylee McGhee
