The debate put an unfamiliar spotlight on the city — activists flocked to Amarillo, national organizations joined local efforts, and council members’ phones rang off the hook.

The news comes as Texas makes national headlines once again for its restrictive abortion laws — a Dallas woman left the state this week to terminate a non-viable pregnancy after a losing legal battle to obtain one here.

There is reason to worry about an erosion to health care for expecting mothers: One study found maternal deaths were two times higher in rural communities in the U.S. than urban areas.

The so-called travel ban would outlaw the use of Amarillo’s roads to transport a pregnant person for an abortion in another state, opening the door for lawsuits from private Texans against anyone who “aids and abet” the procedure.

Mark Lee Dickson, director of Right to Life of East Texas and the anti-abortion activist behind the ordinance, previously told the Tribune that he believes it would hold up in court.

Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge and professor at Harvard Law School, said the ordinance challenges constitutional rights because interstate travel is being affected and essentially penalized.

Saved 84% of original text.