Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
MORTON — Commissioners in this rural Texas county that borders New Mexico on Thursday gave their unanimous blessing to a legally dubious policy that effectively outlaws travel on its local roads to seek an abortion.
The five-member panel in Cochran County, which sits about an hour west of Lubbock, agreed with Mark Lee Dickson, founder of the “sanctuary cities” initiative, who said the ordinance was needed to finish the work started in the state’s near-total ban, often referred to as Senate Bill 8.
Dickson explained that the proposed ordinance aims to address existing loopholes in the fight against abortion by prohibiting the use of roads and the airport for trafficking abortion into New Mexico.
The ordinance was introduced by County Commissioner Eric Silhan to the governing body of the county, as he believes it serves as a voice for “those who lack the ability to speak up.”
In the county commissioners chambers, over twelve individuals were present, all visibly showing their support for the ordinance. Judy Deavours, the former mayor of Whiteface, a neighboring town, expressed her favor towards it. During Deavours’ tenure in office, Whiteface had been among the pioneering towns in the High Plains to adopt the sanctuary city ordinance back in 2020.
Deavours emphasized the need to complete what we had begun. “By approving this, we’ll be able to tie up loose ends and obtain the necessary resources,” he stated.
Cochran’s latest travel ordinance enforces penalties on individuals who knowingly transport someone seeking an abortion through the county’s roads. However, it explicitly states that the mother involved in such a scenario should never face prosecution or any form of penalty. Similar to the sanctuary city ordinance, this measure will rely on private civil lawsuits for enforcement.
Cochran County joins a small group of other rural Texas counties that have passed these ordinances. It’s the first that borders a state where abortion is legal. Abortion-rights supporters and legal scholars have said the policies are unenforceable and unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, Wendy Davis, a former state senator and current senior adviser at Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, expressed that the ongoing endeavor to implement a statewide prohibition on interstate travel is essentially establishing a reproductive confinement within the boundaries of Texas, step by step.
Disclosure: Planned Parenthood has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
