Lubbock County, Texas, joins a group of other rural Texas counties that have voted to ban women from using their roads to seek abortions.
This comes after six cities and counties in Texas have passed abortion-related bans, out of nine that have considered them. However, this ordinance makes Lubbock the biggest jurisdiction yet to pass restrictions on abortion-related transportation.
During Monday's meeting, the Lubbock County Commissioners Court passed an ordinance banning abortion, abortion-inducing drugs and travel for abortion in the unincorporated areas of Lubbock County, declaring Lubbock County a "Sanctuary County for the Unborn."
The ordinance is part of a continued strategy by conservative activists to further restrict abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade as the ordinances are meant to bolster Texas' existing abortion ban, which allows private citizens to sue anyone who provides or "aids or abets" an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
The ordinance, which was introduced to the court last Wednesday, was passed by a vote of 3-0 with commissioners Terence Kovar, Jason Corley and Jordan Rackler, all Republicans, voting to pass the legislation while County Judge Curtis Parrish, Republican, and Commissioner Gilbert Flores, Democrat, abstained from the vote.
"Here's my license, registration, and proof of insurance. I decline to answer any questions without an attorney present. I do not consent to any search."
Good comic, hadn't seen it. I'd add "no divorce" somewhere and and move "women's right to vote" to second last. They definitely want to ban so called interracial marriage before that.
Oh, I get it now… That time I did a giant line of ketamine, I fell into a k-hole and now I think this is reality, when it’s actually still 2010 and I’m just cooked on my mate’s couch.
It is. Freedom of movement literally dates back to Articles of Confederation even (and are essentially grandfathered into the Constitution)
and the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively.
It's been routinely held up by the SCOTUS as being inherent to the Constitution several times. In this instance, there's also a strong argument for it to be a violation of the federal government's reserved right to manage interstate commerce.
Pretty sure it's just meant to be an additional charge they can tack on once they figure out why you're not pregnant anymore.
They can't stop women from getting out-of-state abortions, but they can criminalize using Texas roads to get there, just like the feds can get you for misusing the postal service or an electronic device to commit fraud on top of the fact that you committed fraud in the first place.