ACLU sues seven Texas towns for passing local anti-abortion ordinances
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing seven Texas towns in federal court over recent anti-abortion ordinances declaring the towns "sanctuary cities for the unborn."
The controversial ordinances began popping up in small towns in East Texas last year and gradually spread across the state. Eleven towns, extending as far west as Big Spring, had passed a version of the ordinance. It aims to outlaw abortion at the local level if the U.S. Supreme Court makes it possible to do so, and it grants family members of women who have abortions the ability to sue the provider for emotional distress. Some towns also included language to ban the sale of emergency contraception such as Plan B.
"The ordinances’ existence misleads residents of these cities as to whether individuals can in fact exercise their right to access abortion," civil liberties lawyers representing the Texas Equal Access Fund and the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity, which help women afford abortions, wrote in a court filing. Some towns included language in their ordinances labeling the groups "criminal organizations."
The strategy of bringing the abortion fight to the local level has divided even the staunchest anti-abortion activists. Some groups have warned against taking an inflammatory approach that is unlikely to survive a legal contest and could set the anti-abortion movement back in court. And several towns — including Mineral Wells, Omaha and Jacksboro — have voted down similar ordinances or walked them back under advice from city attorneys.
Read more: https://www.caller.com/story/news/2020/02/26/aclu-sues-seven-texas-towns-passing-local-anti-abortion-ordinances/4880285002/
(Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
