Residents of Albany, Texas Urge Leaders to Make Their City a “Sanctuary for the Unborn”

The residents of Albany, Texas (pop. 2,043) are not giving up in their effort to see their city pass an ordinance to further outlaw abortion and become a “sanctuary for the unborn.”

Although the ordinance was not on the city council’s agenda, on Monday, July 14, Albany residents packed out the city council chambers to ask their city council to place the ordinance on their next city council agenda. This was the third time the city council has heard such a request to pass a Sanctuary City for the Unborn (SCFTU) ordinance further

outlawing abortion. Their first request was on Monday, May 12 and drew strong opposition from the city’s Mayor. A total of 75 cities and 10 counties, of which 58 cities and 8 counties are in Texas, have passed Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinances.

Get the latest pro-life news and information on X (Twitter). Follow @LifeNewsHQ

During public comments, after many area residents spoke in favor of the ordinance, Shackelford County Republican Party Chair Rodney Casey presented a letter to the Albany City Council from Attorney Jerad Najvar out of Houston, Texas. The letter addressed procedural issues relating to the Mayor’s objection to placing the SCFTU Ordinance on the city council agenda. Casey also presented those in attendance with an informational guidesheet relating to where the majority of Shackelford County’s most-devoted Republican voters stood on the abortion issue in their county, where 90.57% voted Republican in the 2024 Presidential Election.

After hearing from the residents, one council member asked several questions regarding the proposed ordinance. The remainder of this article is a response to each of those questions.

How would the Albany SCFTU Ordinance be enforced?

The Albany SCFTU Ordinance would be enforceable the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforceable, through a private enforcement mechanism allowing private citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone in violation of the law. Like the Texas Heartbeat Act, the ordinance cannot be enforced by the city or by law enforcement in any way. Here are a few examples of how the law could be enforced:

If the father of an unborn child learned that his unborn baby’s mother was being transported to an abortion provider in New Mexico in a way which would violate a provision of the Albany SCFTU Ordinance, a well-documented and recorded call could be made to the abortion provider informing them that, by committing the abortion, that provider could be sued for $10,000 for each violation of the ordinance. Alternatively, or in addition to such action, an attorney could warn the abortion provider of the consequences for violating the law by letter via fax, email, or individuals on-site. If the abortion provider does not want to risk being sued, the provider could cancel the abortion appointment.

The end-goal of this law is not to sue the abortion provider, but to see the appointment canceled and the life of the unborn child spared. However, if the abortionist attempts or does commit the abortion, ending the life of the unborn child, the provider could face the consequences for their actions in the district courts of Texas.

Likewise, with the Albany SCFTU Ordinance in place, the father of the unborn child would have the threat of legal action on his side to dissuade an abortion trafficker from aiding and abetting an abortion, which would be illegal under the laws of the City of Albany.

The same applies if a mother found out her daughter was sent abortion-inducing drugs in the mail. She could confiscate the abortion-inducing drugs from her daughter, preserve the evidence, and file a lawsuit against whoever sent the abortion-inducing drugs to her daughter. Note that the pregnant daughter herself would not face having a lawsuit filed against her as the proposed Albany SCFTU Ordinance specifically states, “Under no circumstance may the woman upon whom the abortion was performed, or the pregnant woman who seeks to abort her unborn child, be subject to prosecution or penalty.”

Has any individual brought a lawsuit under a SCFTU Ordinance?

To our knowledge, no individual has ever sued another person for violating any of the Sanctuary for the Unborn ordinances which have been enacted. Of the cities which have passed the ordinances, only one had an abortion facility actively performing abortions at the time of the passage of the ordinance. When the ordinance went into effect thirty days later, Planned Parenthood complied with the law and stopped performing elective abortions. Because of their compliance with the law there has not been any reason for anyone to file a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood is not the only one who chose to comply with the SCFTU laws. In a September 10, 2024 article published in The Texas Observer, Mary Tuma wrote about the abortion trafficking bans passed in places like Lubbock County.

Tuma wrote, “The chilling effect has already deterred patients. Amy Hagstrom Miller, who ran a network of abortion clinics in Texas before relocating her Whole Woman’s Health centers to New Mexico and other states after Roe was overturned, said she has already seen the impact on her patients. When news broke that Lubbock County would be considering an abortion travel ban, every patient from Dallas canceled their appointments at the Albuquerque clinic.”

The same article goes on to state, “Andrea Gallegos—who helps manage two clinics in New Mexico after she relocated from Texas last year with her father, longtime abortion provider Dr. Alan Braid—echoed the observation. The clinics, whose Texas-based patients make up 85 percent of their clientele, have experienced higher than average no-show rates because people are afraid to drive through Lubbock. . . ”

With abortion already illegal in Texas, why can’t you already sue those who are mailing abortion pills into the state?

As the Dallas Morning News reported in August 2023, “A virtual web of reproductive health groups is openly helping Texans circumvent legal and logistical barriers set in place by strict anti-abortion laws, including those that ban shipping abortion medications by mail.”

Recognizing this growing problem, the Texas Legislature attempted to close this loophole earlier this year with SB 2880. That bill, which passed the Senate, died in the House – where it had been stalled in the House State Affairs committee chaired by Representative Ken King and never allowed to make it to the floor for a vote. As reported by Texas Tribune in May 2025, “The bill would have allowed anyone who manufactured, distributed, prescribed or provided abortion pills to be sued for $100,000, expanded the wrongful death statute and empowered the attorney general to bring lawsuits on behalf of “unborn children of residents of this state.”

While Governor Greg Abbott has included a call for “Legislation further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion” to be considered during the Special Session starting July 21st, there is no guarantee that a bill closing the loophole on abortion-inducing drugs will cross the finish line during the short and jam-packed 30-day session.

No state law in Texas currently allows private citizens to sue individuals and organizations outside of Texas who are mailing abortion-inducing drugs into the State of Texas. The Texas Heartbeat Act only allows civil actions to be brought in response to post-heartbeat abortions performed by Texas-licensed physicians. Most out-of-state abortionists are not licensed to practice medicine in Texas. In addition, the Texas Heartbeat Act applies only to abortions performed in Texas, not abortions performed in other states. There is currently no way under state law for anyone to sue someone who aids or abets an out-of-state abortion unless: (1) The abortion was performed by a Texas-licensed physician; (2) The abortion occurred after a fetal heartbeat was detectable; AND (3) The abortion was a drug-induced abortion in which one or both of the abortion-inducing drugs was swallowed or ingested in Texas.

If passed, the Albany SCFTU Ordinance would extend the protections found in the Texas Heartbeat Act to the point of conception and allow lawsuits to be filed against any individual or organization outside of Texas who mails abortion-inducing drugs into the City of Albany. If individuals or organizations outside of Texas violate the Sanctuary for the Unborn laws of any cities or counties in the State of Texas, they risk being sued in cases brought before district courts of the State of Texas.

If Shackelford County has already passed the ordinance, is not every road in Albany already covered?

Adopted on April 15, 2025, Shackelford County’s ordinance only applies to the unincorporated area of the county. The ordinance states, “WHEREAS, the Shackelford County Commissioners’ Court recognizes their ordinance as only covering the unincorporated area of the county, any incorporated municipality within Shackelford County wishing to have similar protections for unborn children should make sure their cities have ordinances covering the area within their city limits – as allowed by state law.”

Since the cities of Moran (pop. 285) and Lueders (pop. 346) have followed Shackelford County (pop. 3,105) in the passage of ordinances with the exact same provisions found in the county ordinance, the only place lacking the same protections is the City of Albany. While some may argue that it is impossible for abortion trafficking to take place on the roads of Albany, since the City of Albany is surrounded by Shackelford County, and the county has an ordinance in place banning the practice, that is not entirely true. The abortion trafficking industry is now using pilots and small aircrafts in their operations. Without the protection provided by the Albany SCFTU Ordinance, the city ends up being a landing and launching site for the abortion trafficking industry.

If Albany follows Shackelford County, Moran, and Lueders in passing the SCFTU Ordinance requested by their citizens, these loopholes will be closed and the Albany will be uniform with their neighboring cities and with the unincorporated area of the county in having the strongest level of protections available for pregnant mothers and their unborn children.

The Work Continues

As cities across Texas continue to work through questions like these, people are becoming more and more educated about how the abortion industry has adapted in a post-Roe Texas and what can be done to help deter abortions. Those interested in knowing more information about the SCFTU Initiative can visit www.sanctuarycitiesfortheunborn.com.

The post Residents of Albany, Texas Urge Leaders to Make Their City a “Sanctuary for the Unborn” appeared first on LifeNews.com.