Lubbock, Texas has, by far, been the biggest city in the United States to outlaw abortion, earning the moniker "sanctuary city for the unborn."
No one can conduct or provide abortions of any kind in the City of Lubbock, Texas.
Of the two-and-and-a-a-half million people living in the municipality of more than 250,000 inhabitants, more than sixty-two percent voted in favor of the referendum, although fewer than thirty-eight percent opposed it.
Mark Lee Dickson, the founder of the movement Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn, has welcomed the victory as a step forward in the battle to enact ordinances prohibiting abortion at the city level.
"I think it says a lot because Lubbock is the 11th-most populated city in the state of Texas and the 83rd most populated city in the United States of America," he told the Christian Post.
The anti-abortion advocacy group brought things on when Planned Parenthood announced their intentions to build an abortion facility in the West Texas area.
Still speaking to Christian Post, Dickson revealed that Planned Parenthood opened on April 15th, and has been doing abortions for the past few weeks. He added that they have also known for some time that Planned Parenthood donated a substantial amount of money to the political campaigns this year.
"They ... pushed a campaign ... to ... prevent this ordinance from being passed, and at the end of the day, they ended up losing that election," he said. "Respectfully, I would congratulate them on their ... campaign effort. But since this was a landslide election, it's very obvious that the people of Lubbock have spoken. I am expecting that Planned Parenthood will obey ... the laws of the city and ... not perform abortions within the city limits of Lubbock, Texas."
Dickson also mentioned an abortion clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana, that was considering crossing the border to Waskom, Texas.
"Waskom, Texas, is a small city that has ... great churches, it has great restaurants, and I just felt like an abortion facility would be a great stain on that city because an abortion facility is a place that murders innocent children on a regular basis," he explained.
"So, I reached out to the mayor, and he didn't want an abortion facility coming into the city. So they decided to pass an ordinance outlawing abortion within the city limits," he added.
Naples, Joaquin, Tenaha, Gilmer, Westbrook, Rusk, Colorado City, Gary, Big Spring, Wells, Whiteface, East Mountain, New Home, Ackerly, Grapeland, Goldsmith, Carbon, Gorman, Murchison, Latexo, and now Lubbock have also passed identical ordinances.
Hayes Center and Blue Hill, Nebraska, have both been sanctuary cities for the unborn.
The vote in Lubbock, according to Dickson, was "ordered by the Lubbock City Charter."
The referendum arrives after the city council voted against the ordinance in November, citing fears that it might lead to a constitutional challenge.
Except in situations when a woman's health is in danger, the ordinance prohibits most abortions in the area. According to Reuters, the bill also requires family members of people who have abortions to prosecute those who helped them.
In Lubbock, it's unknown when the measure would take effect.
Franklin Graham thanks Lubbock's voters
Rev. Franklin Graham, responding with joy at the news, posted a congratulatory message on Facebook thanking Lubbock and other cities for standing up for the unborn.
"Way to go Lubbock! This is great news! Lubbock, Texas, just became a "sanctuary city" for the unborn. On Saturday, 62%-a supermajority-of the people voted to save the lives of babies and outlaw abortion within their city limits," Graham posted.
The evangelist provided some details as to why the Texas city's decision to protect the unborn is very important. He compared the number of lives that were lost to various causes, all of them small compared to the horrific deaths caused by abortions.
"Abortion is the number one killer. If it were anything else, we would be declaring a state of emergency, calling a press conference, or locking down. Thank you Lubbock and other cities that are taking this step to be a sanctuary for life. Let's support them, and let's work to defend life," he said.
