Clovis, New Mexico, population about 39,000, passed an ordinance last week – using different language than usual – to prohibit abortion within the community. The vote by the city commission was unanimous, with one abstention. According to Live Action, the effort to declare the eastern New Mexico community a "sanctuary city for the unborn" was largely led by pastors whose congregations were in full support of the ordinance.
Mark Lee Dickson, founder of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn, explains how abortion is prevented under the Clovis ordinance in a state run by pro-abortion Democrats.
"The way that it accomplishes that goal is by requiring compliance to two federal statutes which prohibit the mailing of the abortion pill and any abortion paraphernalia," Dickson tells AFN. In other words, the ordinance forces abortion clinics to locate elsewhere – meaning the sellers of abortion drugs, the movers and shakers, would have to do without the profits.
Pro-life attorney Mike Seibel, who was present for the historic vote, described the dedication of local citizens in biblical terms. "The citizens of Clovis acted like the persistent widow in the Gospel of Luke and kept pleading with their lawmakers for justice until they finally conceded to their demands," Seibel told Live Action.
Dickson explains why it's important for cities and counties around the country to consider the ordinances.
"The Biden administration has committed to abortion access in every zip code," he points out. "We have been saying this for the past couple of years that cities need to do everything they can to keep Biden's radical agenda out of their community." And, as Clovis has demonstrated, they can do so with such an ordinance.
In passing the ordinance, Clovis became the 63rd government entity in the country to say, legally, no to abortion; and the second "sanctuary city for the unborn" in New Mexico. Hobbs, NM – like Clovis, located near the Texas border – was the first, doing so in November.
Communities in eastern New Mexico have been targeted by abortion providers since abortion became illegal in Texas under pre-Roe v. Wade statutes protecting preborn children from the moment of conception.
