In a surprise bipartisan effort last week, New Mexico’s state Senate gave what has been called by the president of the Family Research Council “one of the most significant blows of the year to the extreme abortion camp.”
But the good news doesn’t stop there. In response to HB 51, which would have decriminalized all abortions in New Mexico, a New Mexican city decided to become a so-called “sanctuary city for the unborn,” LifeSiteNews reports.
In a 7-1 vote, council members passed Resolution 19-28 Friday in Roswell, New Mexico, the famous UFO tourist destination. In reaction to the extreme abortion bills that were proposed in Virginia, New York, and their home state of New Mexico, the city was prompted to take action into their own hands, noting “the protection of all human life is important to the people of the City of Roswell.”
Sanctuary cities are most commonly associated with Democrats’ attempts to protect illegal immigrant criminals from being deported, but Republicans in New Mexico decided to turn the idea on its head. Instead of protecting immigrants who come into the country illegally, Resolution 19-28 seeks to protect children who have yet to be born.
Certainly, it would have been better if New Mexico passed legislation requiring some sort of restriction on abortion. But at the end of the day, Roswell’s move is rhetorical jab in the right direction. After all, effective change starts from the bottom and works its way up, right?
In the city’s reasoning, Roswell council members cited the Declaration of Independence, saying that life is “… the first of these declared rights,” after quoting the preamble.
Indeed, America was created to value our rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” And although abortion advocates are likely to question the legality of Roswell’s pro-life sanctuary, this is precisely the sort of legislation pro-lifers should advocate for. Local governments are slowly starting to take back control when it comes to constitutional issues, and if other states followed in New Mexico’s footsteps, we could see real and substantial change in ending abortion as we know it.
