Last Monday, the German Catholic community of Muenster, Texas (pop. 1,556) passed an “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, Declaring Muenster a Safe Haven for the Unborn” in an unanimous 5-0 vote.
The vote made the City of Muenster, located about 80 miles from Fort Worth, the 52nd city in the State of Texas, the 69th city in America, and the 76th political subdivision in America to pass an enforceable ordinance outlawing abortion. Council Member Clifford Sicking made the motion to adopt the ordinance, Council Member Jeff Maas seconded the motion, with all five members of the city council voting to adopt the measure. The unanimous vote for life was met with applause from those in attendance.
Muenster resident Kenneth Bierschenk led the charge in the passage of the enforceable measure by signing and circulating an online petition from the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website. When asked why he wanted to see abortion outlawed in his city, Bierschenk answered, “I believe all life needs to be protected from birth to natural death. The unborn need someone to be their advocate and the truth needs to be told about the horrors of abortion.” In conversations with elected officials and area residents leading up to the vote, Bierschenk shared the need for the passage of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance. “Even though Texas has outlawed abortion at the state level, that does not mean our work is finished. There is still work to be done at every level of government: city, county, state, and federal.”
Reverend Joseph Keating from Sacred Heart Catholic Church, was one of the many residents who signed the online petition. Reverend Keating said abortion was “against both divine and natural law,” stating, “Abortion denies human dignity; it is immoral and unjust to kill an innocent person.”
Muenster’s Ordinance Outlawing Abortion was written to address several loopholes which exist in Texas’ anti-abortion laws. The city’s ordinance (1) prohibits performing elective abortions and aiding or abetting elective abortions within the city limits of Muenster – extending the private enforcement mechanism from the point of a detectable heartbeat to the point of conception, (2) prohibits elective abortions on residents of Muenster – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) prohibits abortion trafficking outside of Texas to states like Kansas and New Mexico, (4) prohibits abortion-inducing drugs from being shipped into the City of Muenster, allowing lawsuits against entities in other states who are involved in sending the drugs, (5) prohibits criminal organizations from doing business inside the city limits of Muenster, and (6) prohibits the transport and disposal of the remains of unborn children killed by an elective abortion by abortion providers outside of the State of Texas.
SUPPORT LIFENEWS! If you want to help fight abortion, please donate to LifeNews.com!
Senator Drew Springer, who was present for the historic vote, shared after the meeting, “It is great to see that cities are taking the lead and doing what they can do by creating Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn. Muenster is going to call it a ‘Safe Haven for the Unborn,’ but doing the same thing – that we are not going to put up with the abortion movement in any way, whatsoever. Whether that’s pills, trucking aborted fetuses, or whether it’s just operating a clinic. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a small city or a large city. Every city needs to show the values of their citizens, and I’m proud to see Muenster pass it tonight.”
The Muenster Ordinance is enforced the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforced, through a private enforcement mechanism allowing private citizens to file a lawsuit against anyone violating the ordinance. Every single “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” ordinance that has been passed inside the state of Texas contains this same private enforcement mechanism – a mechanism which has led to several victories at the local, state, and federal levels. Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, who is the architect of the Texas Heartbeat Act, has committed to represent the City of Muenster at no cost to the city or taxpayers for any litigation that may arise from the passage of their ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking.
The City of Muenster was not the only city this week with an anti-abortion ordinance on their agenda. On Tuesday, the City of Clarendon, Texas (pop. 1,877), located about 60 miles from Amarillo, also considered an ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking. While the council chose to take no action at Tuesday’s meeting, the ordinance is expected to return to the city council’s agenda next month.
Residents in political subdivisions across Texas who want to see their local government pass an enforceable anti-abortion ordinance seeking to make a difference, are encouraged to sign the online petition from the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.
LifeNews Note: Mark Lee Dickson lives in Texas and serves as a Director with Right to Life of East Texas and the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.
