DALLAS — The Dallas City Council called on federal lawmakers to protect reproductive rights Wednesday.
Council members voted 10-1 to approve a resolution reiterating Dallas’ stance supporting unrestricted access to abortions and saying the city is committed to working with local leaders to advance policies that increase access. The city also plans to send copies of the resolution to Gov. Greg Abbott and Dallas representatives in the state House and Senate.
“The City of Dallas is committed to a world where abortion care is affordable, available and supported for everyone who needs it,” the resolution said.
The resolution also expresses support for Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health centers and calls on President Joe Biden to support pro-abortion policies. The document also says that the city supports several proposed federal laws that would protect reproductive rights, ensure equal and affordable access to abortions, and allow immigrants to quickly enroll in health programs like Medicaid and have access to affordable coverage.
The resolution was added to Wednesday’s council agenda after being submitted by council members Adam Bazaldua and supported by Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez, council members Paula Blackmon, Paul Ridley and Chad West on Jan. 17.
Bazaldua said Wednesday that the resolution was meant to acknowledge what would have been the 50th anniversary of the Jan. 22, 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade and encourage state and federal legislators to do what they can to preserve reproductive rights. The landmark ruling guaranteed the Constitutional right to abortion until it was overturned last June. It triggered a near-total ban on abortions in Texas, leading many to seek procedures out of state instead.
In response to the June ruling, the City Council last August approved changing Dallas policies so that limited government resources would be used to investigate abortions. It calls for any investigations tied to abortions be assigned the lowest priority, except in certain criminal cases. One example would be if an abortion is evidence of a crime, such as sexual assault.
Bazaldua said he believed abortion is a form of health care, noted that the Roe v. Wade case has Dallas origins, and that he felt the city should do whatever it can to “provide rights for everyone.”
“It’s never a moment to celebrate when you have rights as a free American that are being stripped away from you,” said Bazaldua, who represents South Dallas. “We’ve got to look at ways to restore these rights and to accomplish the middle ground that has very clearly been desired by the voters all across our nation.”
Just about all of nearly a dozen people who spoke about the resolution ahead of the council vote urged the elected body not to approve it and advocate for more support for women going through unplanned pregnancies. One resident, Susan Platt, said the city should be memorializing aborted fetuses.
“To have the city of Dallas proclaim that this is a wonderful thing, I don’t think it’s appropriate,” she said. “And I don’t think it’s right.”
Council member Adam McGough cast the lone vote against the resolution. Mayor Eric Johnson and council members Casey Thomas, Tennell Atkins and Cara Mendelsohn weren’t present when the vote was taken.
Before voting against the resolution, McGough said he was thankful Texas bans abortions in most cases and that he didn’t feel it was the City Council’s place to take a stance on the matter. He said the resolution “just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“It’s poorly written. It’s poorly drafted. It deals with items we can’t do anything about,” said McGough, who represents parts of northeast Dallas. “And now we’re saying we need to send this to the governor as the position of the city.”
Mendelsohn also said she didn’t believe the resolution was appropriate for the City Council either, urging her colleagues to leave it with state and federal officials.
“What we see here is political theater at its worst,” said Far North Dallas’ council representative. “In a very real way this item is sabotaging our state legislative agenda. The resolution is meant to specifically thumb our nose at the very legislators we are asking for help to solve some of our most pressing city issues with dollars and policy changes.”
Narvaez said he was comfortable approving the resolution because it was a commemoration of Roe v. Wade’s approval and that it fell in line with the city’s support for state legislation to protect the rights of all vulnerable communities.
He said many residents who he represents in West Dallas have told him that they are pro-choice and that he personally has relatives and friends who’ve had abortions.
“I’m somebody who many of these folks have come to and asked for advice and my advice always is, you gotta do what you feel is right for you,” he said. “At the end of the day, if you choose to have an abortion or you choose not to, I’m going to love you no matter what, because it’s your choice. I’m not the judge.”
McGough proposed a motion to delay the resolution indefinitely. The motion wasn’t endorsed by anyone else on the council in order to move ahead for a vote.
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