The Architect Of Texas' Radical Abortion Law Has His Sights Set On A New State

Mark Lee Dickson sings praise songs during a worship service Sept. 1, 2021, at Trinity Church in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo: The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Mark Lee Dickson has made it his life’s work to criminalize abortion in the state of Texas. A pastor and the head of Right to Life of East Texas — as well as a self-identified “36-year-old virgin” — Dickson traveled to 400 Texas cities in 2019, encouraging towns to declare themselves “sanctuary cities for the unborn” and pass ordinances outlawing abortion. He was successful, aiding the passage of nearly 50 ordinances banning abortion in cities in Texas and a handful of other states.

His achievements on the road jump-started his career as one of the most well-known anti-abortion advocates in the country.

Dickson’s legislative strategy for banning abortions at the city level paved the way for Texas’ vigilante-enforced six-week abortion ban that went into effect last year. The anti-abortion advocate, along with attorney and former Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell, formulated an enforcement mechanism that would circumvent any legal or court challenges: delegating enforcement to private citizens, rather than law enforcement or other government agencies. That played out in cities across Texas, until Dickson and Mitchell took their idea statewide. With the help of Texas Republicans, Dickson helped craft Senate Bill 8 ― the most extreme abortion restriction at the time ― which financially incentivized private citizens to sue anyone who aids or abets Texans trying to get an abortion past the six-week point.

Unlike other recent attempts to ban abortion early in pregnancy, S.B. 8 was able to survive legal challenges when Roe v. Wade was still the law of the land. The measure, arguably one of the first major warning signs that Roe would soon fall, was a huge victory for abortion opponents like Dickson.

Fast-forward a full year, and Roe is dead. Over a dozen states including Texas have enacted near-total abortion bans, forcing many Americans to travel to other states to receive care.

Dickson, triumphant in Texas, has now turned his sights to New Mexico ― a state where many Texans have fled to access critical abortion care.

Two New Mexico towns near the Texas border are discussing abortion bans within their city limits that will come to a vote in the coming weeks, and a handful of other communities in the area, including the city of Lovington and Lea County, are discussing similar measures. The city council in Clovis, a farming town in eastern New Mexico, will vote Nov. 3 on an ordinance that seeks to ban abortion providers and criminalize sending medication abortion, or abortion pills, by mail. And the city commission in Hobbs, a town about 2 1/2 hours south of Clovis, voted overwhelmingly earlier this month to proceed with an ordinance to ban abortion. A final vote in Hobbs is set for Nov. 7.

Dickson has been a central figure behind both of these proposals.

He’s been in communication with Clovis residents for more than a year to make the town a “sanctuary city for the unborn,” Dickson told Eastern New Mexico News earlier this month.

“All I did was answer a call. All I did was go where the Lord was calling me to go,” said Dickson. “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.’”

Dickson spoke at an anti-abortion rally in Hobbs earlier this month, alongside other abortion opponents from Texas and New Mexico. He can also be seen cheering in the background of a Hobbs City Commission meeting after an all-male board voted unanimously to proceed with an ordinance banning abortion.

Neither Clovis or Hobbs have abortion clinics within their city limits, but some reproductive health organizations have expressed interest in expanding abortion services to cities that border Texas to accommodate for the influx of patients traveling to New Mexico. Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, recently said she’d like to offer services in or around Clovis, Hobbs and Roswell, another New Mexico town near the Texas border.

Dickson is trying to preempt any such move. “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 after a recent Hobbs City Commission meeting. “They want to attract as many Texas residents as possible for abortions right here in New Mexico.”