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Pro-Life 'Sanctuary Cities' Movement Celebrates 62nd City Outlawing Abortion

Steve Warren
12-20-2022

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The grassroots movement Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn recently announced it has added the 62nd city to its roster of municipalities both large and small, including one county, that has outlawed abortion. 

American Family News reports Odessa, Texas has become the latest city to declare itself a pro-life city. 

The 17-page Odessa ordinance was passed on Nov. 23 by the Odessa City Council as soon as newly elected members of the council were sworn into office, according to The Texan. The council voted 5-1 with one abstaining to approve the measure. The council also approved the ordinance 6-1 on the second reading of the measure on Dec. 13. 

With the ordinance's passage, Odessa becomes the 49th city in the state of Texas to outlaw abortion. It is also one of the largest cities to pass the ordinance. 

Mark Lee Dickson, the founder of the organization, told AFN, "The Odessa ordinance actually goes further than some of the other ordinances do in prohibiting abortion performed on residents of Odessa, even in New Mexico and Colorado."

Dickson tweeted the news about Odessa on Dec. 14, writing: "Tonight the City Council of Odessa, TX (pop. 125,413) took their second and final vote on an 'Ordinance outlawing abortion, declaring Odessa a sanctuary city for the unborn.' The ordinance passed with 6-1 in favor of the ordinance. #TXIsProLife."

There's currently a signature-gathering effort by pro-life groups in Bellevue, Nebraska to introduce a similar ordinance in that city, according to AFN. However, the pro-life advocates have received threats and there have been efforts to intimidate them as they continue their project. 

"Notes have been left at a Catholic student center and a church," Dickson told AFN. "Those notes are meant to push us back, to try to discourage us from finishing this initiative."

Police are investigating the threats as the signature-gathering effort in Bellevue, a suburb of Omaha, continues. 

Founded in 2019, Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn has cities on its roster located in Texas, Nebraska, Ohio, Louisiana, Iowa, and New Mexico.

Read the list of cities here. 

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of
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