The City of Mason, Ohio is no longer a sanctuary for unborn babies.
On Monday, newly-elected members of the council voted 6-1 to repeal its Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance, which bans abortions, WKRC Local 12 reports.
Mason was the second city in Ohio and one of more than 40 others across the country to pass a pro-life ordinance outlawing abortions in October. The ordinance made it unlawful to abort an unborn baby at any stage of pregnancy, including with abortion drugs, and to “aid or abet” an abortion. Exceptions were allowed if the mother’s life is at risk.
However, in November, the city elected several new members to the board, all of whom voted to repeal the ordinance and end protections for unborn babies in Mason.
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Mayor Barbara Spaeth, Vice Mayor Diana Nelson and council members Tony Bradburn, Mark Haake, Ashley Chance and Josh Styrcula voted in favor of the repeal, the Springfield News-Sun reports. Councilwoman Kathy Grossman, who supported the ordinance in October, voted no.
Some council members tried to portray their predecessors’ action as disingenuous, even though Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances in other parts of the country have withstood legal challenges and are saving unborn babies’ lives.
“This was not adopted to save the unborn lives. This was a political weapon during an election,” Chance said before he voted to repeal the ordinance, according to WKRC.
Haake also slammed the ordinance as a political move by the previous council, saying: “This ordinance was not going to change anything for the city. … It became a political issue … timing seems pretty clear that it was meant to inflame one side that they felt was going to be stronger and get them more votes,” WHIO 7 reports.
If the ordinance was meaningless and ineffective, as some claimed at the meeting Monday, it does not make sense that the council made repealing it a top priority after taking office.
Mason does not have an abortion facility, but pro-life advocates pointed out that the Biden administration is working aggressively to expand abortions.
“Joe Biden has stated he wants abortion in every zip code in America,” said Mark Harrington, president of Created Equal and supporter of the Mason ordinance, previously. “Hence, citizens across America are acting by preventing abortion from being committed in their communities.”
Lebanon became the first city in Ohio to pass a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance in May.
Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances are saving lives in other parts of the country. In May, voters in Lubbock, Texas overwhelmingly approved a similar Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance on the ballot, and Planned Parenthood was forced to stop aborting unborn babies there. The abortion chain challenged the ordinance, but a judge threw out its lawsuit in June.
Though abortion activists have threatened legal action, cities with Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances have been successful in court. In 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union dropped its lawsuit challenging several Texas cities’ pro-life ordinances.
ACTION ALERT: Contact the Mason City Council to complain about reversing the abortion ban.
