The ACLU filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against seven East Texas towns that recently passed anti-abortion ordinances declaring themselves “sanctuary cities for the unborn.” The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Lilith Fund and Texas Equal Access Fund, two reproductive rights groups in Texas that are among those deemed “criminal organizations” by these cities and barred from operating in them.
The abortion bans are largely symbolic—none of the towns that have passed them have abortion providers anyway, and banning the procedure is unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade. But the ordinances would immediately outlaw abortion if Roe was overturned, and in the meantime, the plaintiffs argue, confuse residents who may think abortion is now illegal. (The Lilith Fund put up billboards in parts of East Texas last summer reminding residents the procedure is still legal and accessible.)
The lawsuit was filed against the cities of Waskom, Naples, Joaquin, Tenaha, Rusk, Gary, and Wells. The all-male city council in Waskom, on the Texas-Louisiana border, became the first to pass this kind of measure last June, while acknowledging it could open them up to a court challenge. A few other towns not included in the lawsuit have also approved similar measures in recent months, bringing the total to eleven. At least three others have rejected measures amid concerns of legal challenges.
