Personhood Alliance has launched the "Safe Cities for the Preborn" project*, which is focused on restoring – one local community at a time – the personhood of those in the womb. The pro-life group's premise is that when a community stands against abortion (and the abortion industry) and builds a culture of life, their actions model both justice and mercy, thereby instilling courage in other communities.
Spokesman Les Riley explains the three-step process behind the "Safe Cities" approach:
"[First] we encourage towns and counties to pass resolutions that recognize the personhood of the unborn, recognize that Roe was wrongly decided, [and] that human beings are created in the image of God, deserve equal protection, the premises of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, etcetera."
After the resolution is passed, volunteers build a support structure educating the churches, businesses, politicians, and civic groups on what it means to be a safe city. Then, Riley explains, local government bodies can proceed to enact ordinances to protect preborn babies.
"They can have ordinances that remove chemical abortifacients, elect officials at the state level who will outlaw abortion regardless of what the federal courts [or] the federal government does – and then you've got the foundation for standing up against unjust mandates," says the pro-life leader.
Cities and counties in Mississippi, North Carolina, and Alabama have passed the Safe City resolutions and moved into Step 2. According to Riley, local governments throughout the country are considering the process as well.
* Different from "Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn," which currently lists more than 40 cities – most of them in Texas.
