As AFN has reported, pro-lifers in Amarillo had obtained enough signatures on a petition to force a vote on an ordinance banning use of its streets, highways, and airports for abortion trafficking.
During its regular meeting last week, the city council tabled the ordinance that would outlaw abortion and declare Amarillo a "sanctuary city of the unborn." The petition committee was asked to amend the item regarding the transportation of a person through the city to receive an abortion, as that was considered unenforceable.
"The citizen initiative petition, according to the city charter, forces the Amarillo mayor and council to vote on that ordinance," says Mark Lee Dickson, head of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn. "If they accept that ordinance, then it becomes law of Amarillo, and it's done. If they do not accept that ordinance, then the initiating committee has the ability to put that on the ballot."
The ordinance has been under consideration since last year, but he says action has been delayed because of the council's squabbling.
"Amarillo should have taken care of it back in December or January," Dickson contends. "This should not have taken this long."
His hope now is that the residents will press forward.
"This measure is not something that's on the fringe," he asserts. "This is something that is widely accepted among pro-life leaders and organizations, and it really is what is best for Amarillo and the state of Texas as a whole."
The city council is unlikely to consider a vote until later this month.
According to a tally kept by Dickson's organization, more than a dozen cities and counties have passed similar policies.
