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This is a facially stupid law. (And by “facially stupid,” I’m not even addressing the morally bankrupt policy implications, but rather critiquing the framework that is wholly untethered from how the law and a system of justice works.)
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But the effort pushed by anti-abortion activists hit a road block in Amarillo Tuesday, after the city council said they would not immediately vote on a similar rule.
The Lubbock commissioners – Jason Corley, Terence Kovar and Jordan Rackler – voted for the ordinance, which can only be enforced by private citizens who file lawsuits against people assisting pregnant Texans seeking an abortion.
Meanwhile, several members of the Amarillo City Council said they opposed abortion, but questioned the legality of proposed rule and said they would not rush to put it in place just because other local governments have.
Anti-abortion activists from New Mexico and other parts of Texas have framed the ordinance as something to prevent “abortion trafficking,” with one meeting attendee implying to commissioners that pregnant women were being “transported” to other states against their will.
Before the vote, Neal Burt, civil chief for the Lubbock County District Attorney’s office, asked commissioners for additional time to look over the ordinance.
Commissioner Flores — the oldest member of the court at 77 years old — explained his civil rights were violated in the 1950s and 1960s, and how he doesn’t want to put women in a similar position by enacting the ordinance.
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