Mark Lee Dickson, a pastor and the head of Right to Life of East Texas, has quickly made a name for himself in the anti-abortion space. According to The Washington Post, he has not only self-identified as a “36-year-old virgin” but traveled to 400 Texas cities in 2019, encouraging towns to declare themselves as “sanctuary cities for the unborn” and pass ordinances outlawing abortion—despite it still being legal under both state and federal law at the time.
According to HuffPost, Dickson was successful and helped aid the passage of nearly 50 city ordinances. Many believe Dickson’s legislative strategy for banning abortions at the city level helped pave the way for Texas’ six-week abortion ban, dubbed the “Heartbeat Bill.”
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With the fall of Roe v. Wade, conditions in Texas have only worsened. After his success in Texas, Dickson has now turned his eyes to New Mexico—a state that many Texans have gone to in order to access the abortion care the Lone Star State has outlawed.
According to HuffPost, at least two New Mexico cities near the Texas border are now considering abortion bans due to Dickson’s lobbying. Clovis’ city council is expected to vote Nov. 3 on an ordinance that seeks to ban abortion providers and criminalize sending medication abortion, or abortion pills, by mail. But Clovis is not alone: A vote is also expected to take place in Hobbs, New Mexico, on Nov. 7.
Dickson has allegedly been in contact with officials in both towns for several months, urging them to become a “sanctuary city for the unborn,” the Eastern New Mexico News reported.
“All I did was answer a call. All I did was go where the Lord was calling me to go,” Dickson told the outlet. “I did not go forward thinking I could do this on my own. I went forward saying, ‘God help me. God help this city. I can’t do this alone. We can’t do this alone. We are going to need your help.’”
While neither Clovis or Hobbs have abortion clinics within their city limits, reproductive health organizations have expressed interest in expanding into those areas to help accommodate an influx of patients that are coming from Texas, HuffPost reported.
Dickson is fully aware of this, and is planning to pass ordinances before clinics can expand care.
“We know that abortion providers want to set up right here in these cities that are just minutes away from the Texas border,” Dickson told Reuters. “They want to attract as many Texas residents as possible for abortions right here in New Mexico.”
According to HuffPost, because there is no legal limit on abortion in the state, New Mexico is currently one of five states that offer crucial abortion care later in pregnancy. Dickson clearly had his sights set on the state not only because it is close to Texas, but because he knew about its current abortion access.
Local New Mexico politicians are aware of Dickson’s actions and are speaking up. Others have also noted that the GOP candidate for governor, Mark Ronchetti, has been endorsed by Dickson several times.
While Ronchetti ran on a “strongly pro-life” platform during the primaries, he allegedly backed off his strong anti-abortion views after the fall of Roe v. Wade, HuffPost reported. He is now trying to depict himself as being in the “middle ground on abortion” and calling for a 15-week ban instead of a complete ban, as he previously did.
With an extremist anti-abortion activist like Dickson backing him in a state that currently supports the right to choice, many are wondering where Ronchetti really stands. Dickson allegedly even claimed he’s been discussing the ordinances pending in Clovis and Hobbs with Ronchetti.
The news of Dickson hoping to expand his anti-abortion views outside of Texas follows news of a defamation case moving forward in the Texas Supreme Court this week.
The state court heard arguments Wednesday over whether a defamation case brought by several abortion funds against Dickson should be dismissed. The lawsuit filed by the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity and the Afiya Center against Dickson looks to define fact and fiction in Dickson’s widespread anti-abortion statements.
According to CNHI News, the Lilith Fund and the Afiya Center are abortion funds that offered financial aid to pregnant residents in Texas who sought an abortion prior to the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June. The funds enabled pregnant individuals to seek care when a rural town, Waskom, passed an ordinance in 2019 that outlawed abortions in all forms, despite it being against state and federal law at the time.
The ordinance came after a campaign founded by Dickson, who as a supporter of the ordinance encouraged other cities to adopt similar legislation and even called abortion funds “criminal organizations” because they violated the criminal provisions of the ordinances.
The lawsuit alleges Dickson knowingly and willingly perpetuated these stances, despite Roe v. Wade not being overturned during the time, in order to defame pro-choice organizations and spread his anti-abortion agenda.
Dickson and his attorney are looking to have the lawsuit dismissed, claiming Dickson’s statements calling the organizations “criminal” are true and not defamatory.
“They are criminals because they have violated the criminal laws of Texas, which imposes felony criminal liability on any person who quote ‘furnishes the means for procuring an abortion,’” said Dickson’s attorney, Jonathan Mitchell.
The organizations noted that as a result of Dickson’s words they were not only receiving threats, but losing support from people who were afraid of associating with them, despite them operating legally.
According to the Texas Tribune, the Texas Supreme Court is expected to deliver a ruling before the end of its current term in June 2023.
Despite the lawsuit and backlash, Dickson plans to continue spreading his anti-abortion rhetoric. In an interview last year he noted that he saw the green light for his ordinances as an encouragement to continue them elsewhere.
“Wherever we go, whether that be in Texas or Nebraska or Ohio or Kentucky or Florida … we can go anywhere now and say, look, this enforcement mechanism has survived before the Supreme Court of the United States,” he said. “It’s been tested, and it stands.”
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