Abortion isn’t just an issue for state ballot measures. Voters in at least two cities, Amarillo, Texas, and San Francisco, California, will decide on abortion-related local ballot initiatives on Nov. 5. Both address an issue that the state ballot measures do not—how governments address abortion beyond their jurisdictions.
In Amarillo, voters will decide on Proposition A, which would prohibit residents from receiving abortions outside Amarillo and prohibit people from transporting residents to locations outside Amarillo to receive abortions, at least to the extent permitted under the federal and state constitutions. In San Francisco, on the other hand, voters will decide on Proposition O, which would prohibit officials and employees from sharing information with out-of-state or federal law enforcement about state-legal abortions, decisions to have abortions, and other matters.
Amarillo Proposition A would also establish the jurisdiction as a Sanctuary City for the Unborn; declare that abortion is illegal in Amarillo, with exceptions to save the pregnant woman’s life; provide that abortion-inducing drugs are unlawful contraband; designate organizations that use mail to send items intended for abortions as criminal organizations and prohibit them from operating in Amarillo; and provide that private persons have standing to bring civil actions against persons who violate or intend to violate Proposition A.
San Francisco Proposition O would also declare that San Francisco shall not “investigate or prosecute a person for having accessed or provided reproductive health care” or “assist or cooperate with such an investigation or prosecution,” excluding cases involving “the use of coercion or force against the pregnant person” or “criminal negligence that harmed the health of the pregnant person;” establish the Reproductive Freedom Fund, which would receive private donations, including grants, gifts, and bequests, and distribute the funds to support “access to abortions and emergency contraception in San Francisco;” and create a new service class called Reproductive Health Clinics that are permitted throughout San Francisco, excluding certain residential areas.
Abortion is an uncommon topic for local ballot measures, though a few have appeared in recent years. In 2023, voters in San Antonio, Texas, rejected a ballot initiative to prohibit police from enforcing criminal abortion laws. The ballot initiative addressed other issues as well: prohibiting police from issuing citations or making arrests for certain misdemeanor marijuana possession offenses; banning no-knock warrants and chokeholds by law enforcement; and using citations instead of arrests for certain misdemeanors. The vote was 28.37% to 71.63%. In Texas, other cities have voted on ballot measures similar to Amarillo’s, such as Lubbock Proposition A in 2021. Voters in Dane County and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, decided on non-binding questions about abortion in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
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