Photo by Noah Dawson
Following the submission of a petition seeking to implement various abortion-related prohibitions in the city, Amarillo City Council will meet on Tuesday, May 28th to discuss the proposed ordinance as well as an alternative.
The ordinance proposed by the petition includes prohibitions on performing abortions in Amarillo, performing abortions on Amarillo residents, “abortion trafficking,” abortion-inducing drugs, and transporting or disposing the remains of an aborted child in the city. The prohibitions would be enforced solely through private civil actions.
Locally, many conservatives have expressed skepticism towards the ordinance. In particular, some have criticized the abortion trafficking prohibition as a travel ban. During a recent press conference, Mayor Cole Stanley said that “freedom to move is greatly important, and we should never be in favor of doing anything to limit that.”
Some local conservatives have also expressed concerns over the private right of action. The provision, modeled after the Texas Heartbeat Act, was originally included in the state law as a means to avoid having the state’s abortion prohibitions directly challenge Roe v Wade, which had not yet been overturned when the Heartbeat Act was first passed. Activist Mark Lee Dickson has defended the provision as non-negotiable, claiming it is necessary in part because an employee of the Randall County District Attorney’s Office has a history of working for pro-choice organizations.
A similar proposal was recently rejected in Clarendon, the county seat of Donley County. Donley County has a record of being among the most conservative in the state, with over 87% of the county’s vote in 2020 going to Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, some on the left have vocally supported the petition process, hoping that the proposal ends up on the November ballot. “Let the people vote to see if women are people or incubators,” said activist Nathan Smith at a recent council meeting, repeating his calls for the item to go to a vote.
Should the city not pass the proposed ordinance within 30 days after the meeting on Tuesday, the initiating committee may exercise the right to have the item placed on the November ballot.
During the meeting, the council will also discuss and potentially consider an alternative ordinance. The ordinance would incorporate three provisions of the Texas Health and Safety Code into the Amarillo Municipal Code. The first provision, Chapter 170A, creates criminal liability for inducing or performing abortions. The second, Chapter 171, restricts abortion-inducing drugs and creates private civil liability for aiding or abetting in the inducement or performance of an abortion. The third, Chapter 697, places restrictions on the disposition of fetal and embryonic tissue.
The discussion and potential action on the two items is set to be preceeded by a public comment section set aside for both, with the public comment section and ordinances the final three items on the agenda ahead of adjournment.
The meeting will begin at 3:00 pm and take place on the third floor of Amarillo City Hall. The full agenda and agenda packet for the meeting can be found at this link.