Voters in multiple states have the opportunity this fall to determine the future of abortion rights where they live. But an anti-abortion ballot measure in a midsize Texas city could have sweeping national implications and severely restrict abortion at the federal level.
Amarillo, Texas — a conservative town in the panhandle with a population of about 200,000 — is set to consider a measure that would declare the city a “sanctuary city for the unborn.” The measure would prohibit abortion unless necessary to save the patient’s life, make abortion pills illegal and outlaw assisting a person to travel outside the city, or through the city, to access abortion in other states. Interstate 40 is the major thoroughfare through Amarillo and happens to be the fastest way to get to New Mexico, where abortion is protected.
Though several states have abortion rights initiatives on the ballot next month, anti-abortion activists are focused on Amarillo for the role an outcome there could play nationally. If the ordinance is adopted, the city could become involved in an abortion pill case the Supreme Court sent back to the lower courts last term. The justices argued that the main plaintiffs — a coalition of anti-abortion groups known as the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine — lacked standing to bring the case.