Amarillo voters decisively rejected Proposition A, a controversial measure that sought to ban abortion-related travel within the city, with 40,392 votes against and 27,544 in favor. The vote marks a significant defeat for the initiative, which was championed by the Sanctuary City for the Unborn movement and supporters of the Republican Party of Texas platform.
Mark Lee Dickson, the founder of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn Initiative, expressed disappointment but vowed to continue the fight. “Well, of course, this is not like we saw in Lubbock, Plainview, Abilene, and San Angelo. Amarillo has a reputation of being a very conservative city, but here tonight, what we’re seeing is that Amarillo ended up voting against an ordinance that was supported by the Republican Party of Texas platform,” Dickson said after the vote. “This is not just a travel ban; it’s a ban on abortion trafficking—just like bans on sex trafficking or drug trafficking.”
Dickson hinted that this was not the end of the matter. “The people I’ve talked to tonight about this are ready for a battle here in six months. We’re going to get some of these people out of office, and we’re going to do our part to bring this back. Whether it’s in six months, a year, or three years, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
On the other side, opponents of Proposition A celebrated the result, with many seeing it as a victory for personal freedoms and access to healthcare. Courtney Brown, co-founder of the Amarillo Reproductive Freedom Alliance (ARFA), emphasized the importance of voter education in the outcome. “People took the time to read the ordinance, listen to what we had to say, and understand that, at the end of the day, this is a restriction on your rights to bodily autonomy, freedom of speech, medical privacy, and the right to interstate travel,” Brown said.
Brown also highlighted the impact on medical professionals. “Doctors were coming out, saying they could not perform their jobs under the threat of lawsuits, $10,000 lawsuits at that. This ordinance would have punished healthcare providers for simply offering information that could save their patients’ lives. Everybody wants access to healthcare, and this was an outright rejection of that.”
Brown pointed out that the rejection of Proposition A in Amarillo is a historic first for the country. “This is the first rejection of a travel restriction ballot initiative in the nation. Mark Lee Dickson has come after town after town, thinking he could push his views on our community without resistance. But Amarillo stood up to him today, and that was a really good feeling.”
Looking forward, Brown reaffirmed ARFA’s commitment to educating the community about the ongoing threats to reproductive rights in Texas. “We know Mark Lee Dickson doesn’t stop. He’s been known to go after counties when cities reject his abortion bans and travel bans. We’ll continue to educate our community about how they’re being denied access to abortion care. There’s no way this ordinance will stand at the state level either. We need to protect our access to healthcare, and we’ll keep fighting to ensure that happens.”
