More Cities—From Boise To Waco—Pursue Abortion Protections Or Bans Despite State Laws

Topline

A growing number of cities and counties are taking abortion rights into their own hands in light of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, passing and moving forward with policies that make it harder to enforce their states’ abortion bans—or trying to outlaw the procedure even when it’s allowed statewide.

Pro-abortion rights protesters hold up signs during an abortion-rights rally on June 25, 2022 in … [+] Austin, Texas.

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Key Facts

Many cities and localities have passed abortion-related resolutions in recent weeks, which typically direct local law enforcement to deprioritize enforcing any abortion-related crimes in violation of state abortion bans, as well as direct city funds not to be used on enforcing anti-abortion laws.

More cities in Texas moved forward with similar proposals this week: a proposal was debated in Waco, a city council committee approved a resolution in Dallas to move forward and the San Antonio City Council passed a measure on Tuesday that prohibits the use of city funds on enforcing the state’s abortion ban.

Conversely, the city council in Alamogordo, New Mexico—a state where abortion remains legal—voted Wednesday to make the city a “sanctuary for the unborn,” after Otero County, where Alamogordo is located, passed a measure doing the same in mid-July (there are no abortion clinics located within the county).

The city council in San Clemente, California, will consider a resolution on August 16 that would similarly make the city a “sanctuary for life” and prohibit abortions, even as California has more broadly moved to protect abortion rights.

Santa Rosa County, Florida, will also hear a resolution on August 11 that would be a “trigger ordinance” banning abortion, which would take effect only if the Florida Supreme Court overturns a ruling declaring the state constitution protects abortion rights, and the Florida legislature lets local governments regulate the procedure.

Tangent

Some cities in states that protect abortion rights are also declaring themselves “sanctuary cities” for abortion rights or considering proposals to do so, including Seattle, Ithaca, New York, and Washington, D.C. While abortion is legal in all of those areas to begin with, the measures would mean law enforcement can’t cooperate with other states’ abortion-related investigations, such as if a physician performs an abortion for a resident of a state that bans abortion or prescribes them abortion pills.

Chief Critic

The ACLU of New Mexico said in response to Otero County and Alamogordo’s resolutions against abortion that they carry no actual legal weight, and vowed to take action if the city or actually tries to enforce it, given that abortion is legal statewide.

Surprising Fact

The new resolutions banning abortion come after a series of anti-abortion localities declared themselves “sanctuary cities for the unborn” before Roe v. Wade was overturned and their states permitted abortion. The resolutions barred abortion clinics from opening within city limits, even as there was nothing under state law that prohibited them. More than 40 localities in Texas alone issued such declarations, according to anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life, along with some localities outside of Texas like Pollock, Louisiana; Lebanon, Ohio, and Hayes Center, Nebraska.

Key Background

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, leading to a wave of statewide bans on the procedure. The rise of cities opposing their states’ policies through local resolutions comes as polling shows abortion bans are broadly unpopular even within Republican-leaning states that have banned the procedure, meaning there’s likely a large appetite among local officials and residents to challenge the state policies. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in July found only 32% of respondents in states with abortion trigger laws or bans from before Roe was decided actually want their state to ban abortion, while a 51% majority would prefer it enacts legal protections for the procedure. A Pew Research poll conducted in late June and early July similarly found 52% of residents in states that have totally banned abortion disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling.