Borden County, Texas Becomes 17th County in the Nation to Ban Abortions

On the morning of Tuesday, January 13th, residents of Borden County gathered at the Borden County Courthouse in Gail, Texas, to see their leaders conduct the county’s business. On the agenda this particular morning was an ordinance “Outlawing Abortion Within the Unincorporated Area of Borden County, Declaring Borden County a Sanctuary County for the Unborn.”

Borden County resident Will Phinizy shared, “I’ve been seeing the news blips from LifeNews about other cities and counties moving forward. I’ve been waiting to see the news blip from LifeNews about Borden County.” Thanks to a unanimous 4-0 vote by County Commissioners Norman “Jibber” Herridge, Randy Adcock, Emma Swift, and Greg Stansell, Mr. Phinizy will get to see that news blip.

In adopting the measure, Borden County became the 17th county in the nation and the 15th county in Texas to pass a Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance. Borden County follows the Texas counties of Mitchell, Goliad, Cochran, Lubbock, Dawson, Jack, Shackelford, Camp, Shelby, Hopkins, Dickens, Howard, Motley, and Crosby County. Borden County is the 1st county and the 2nd political subdivision to pass the measure in 2026.

Though they are small, Borden County is considered one of the three most conservative counties in the State of Texas. In the 2024 Presidential Election, 95.61% of voters cast their ballots for Donald J. Trump, 4.13% for Kamala Harris, and 0.26% for another candidate.

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Borden County’s Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance puts into place six provisions. These provisions prohibit: (1) performing an elective abortion and aiding or abetting elective abortions within Borden County, (2) elective abortions on residents of Borden County – regardless of where the abortion takes place, (3) abortion trafficking through the unincorporated area of Borden County, (4) the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs into the unincorporated area of Borden County, (5) criminal organizations from doing business inside Borden County, and (6) the transportation and disposal of the remains of unborn children who have been killed by an elective abortion across state lines and carried by waste management companies into Texas in and through Borden County.

Following the vote, Borden County Republican Chair Diedra Parks shared, “I am proud of our county for taking a pro-life stance and protecting the unborn babies. Babies are our future. If we do not have babies, what do we have?” Diedra’s husband, Eddie Parks, was also moved by the vote. Parks shared, “Before I was a Christian, I was dating a girl who got pregnant, and I took her to get an abortion. Because of that, I never had children of my own. I regret that. It was selfish. We wanted what we wanted at the time, and we thought that would take care of it. I’ve spent the rest of my life regretting that.” Parks continued, “When you are living in the world, it is easy to justify the decisions that you make, not knowing the full ramifications of what you are doing.” Parks concluded, “We have to stand for life. If we do not stand for life, we will regret it.”

Chase Pinkerton, who grew up in Borden County and met his wife in the community, shared, “Today, the Borden County Commissioners cast a vote to keep babies safe in Borden County, to keep the abortion industry off of their roads, and provide accountability for those who want to destroy the image of God.” Pinkerton continued, “It’s nice to know that a place known by many to produce excellence and wholesome character is standing firm for life. Borden County is the gold standard for what rural Texas is all about, and passing the Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance is just evidence of that.”

The Borden County Sanctuary County for the Unborn Ordinance is enforced the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforced, through a private enforcement mechanism. This means that the law is not enforced by local law enforcement, but by private citizens filing a lawsuit against bad actors, such as: an abortionist who intends to perform an abortion on a resident of Borden County, a company that mails abortion-inducing drugs to any household in Borden County, abortion trafficking organizations seeking to take minors across state lines for abortions, or waste management companies transporting dead unborn babies from abortion facilities across state lines through the county for disposal in Texas landfills. While the ordinance allows for lawsuits to be filed against any of these bad actors for violating the ordinance, the ordinance is clear that no action may be taken against the pregnant woman who intends or seeks to abort her unborn child.

In addition to providing protections for pregnant mothers and their unborn children, the ordinance also educates members of the community on the Thriving Texas Families Program and the resources that can be obtained through centers listed on the Texas Pregnancy Care Network website at www.texaspregnancy.org and The Pregnancy Network website operated by Human Coalition at www.thepregnancynetwork.clinic.

Borden County received a letter from Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell, committing to represent Borden County at no cost to the city or taxpayers for any litigation that may arise from the passage of their ordinance further outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking.

Residents in cities and counties across the nation who are interested in seeing their local government pass an enforceable ordinance are encouraged to sign the online petition from the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.

LifeNews Note: Mark Lee Dickson lives in Texas and is the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.

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