OMAHA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – Two more northeast Texas towns are taking a symbolic stand against abortion.
Monday the city councils of Omaha and Naples approved an ordinance declaring their cities to be a “sanctuary city for the unborn.”
The city of Waskom approved a similar ordinance earlier this year.
The proposals were presented to city leaders by Mark Lee Dickson, director of the group Right to Life East Texas.
“Every city deserves to have that protection for the most vulnerable among us,” said Dickson.
Dickson has traveled across east Texas in an effort to get city councils to pass this ordinance, which prevents abortion clinics from setting up within city limits.
Both Omaha and Naples have vacant former clinic spaces available for purchase in their cities. Supporters of the ordinance say they wanted to make sure the next business that moved into these locations was not an abortion clinic.
“If you allow children to be killed like they are now and continue to be killed, what if someone wants to kill me?” said Morris County Republican Party Chairman Deborah Ramsey. “You know, when I’m old, and I am getting that way.”
Naples Mayor David Betts said the ordinance was placed on the agenda and approved by council in about a week.
“It surprised me, because I figured they really would table it and have more time, beause it’s a pretty long ordinance, I mean, it has a lot of legal terms in it,” said Betts.
The only dissenting vote on the Naples council came from Danny Mills, who said he didn’t think it was the city’s place to get involved in people’s personal lives.
“I just didn’t see that we could tie up the mayor and cops tending to somebody else’s business,” said Mills.
Omaha’s city council voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance.
There have been no reported plans to open abortion clinics in either of these cities.
Back in July, the Mineral Wells city council voted against passing a similar ordinance making their town a “sanctuary city for the unborn” after the Texas ACLU warned them the move was unconstitutional.
Shreveport has the closest surgical abortion clinic.
