(Cincinnati, OH) – Late last night, after close to four hours of testimony, Lebanon City Council voted unanimously (6-0) to pass an ordinance declaring Lebanon a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. While similar ordinances have been passed in Nebraska and Texas, Lebanon is the first city in Ohio to take this step. The ordinance states that is unlawful for anyone to procure or perform an abortion or aid or abet someone in doing so inside the city limits. Furthermore, it prohibits the possession or distribution of abortion drugs. The ordinance defines abortion as “the act of using or prescribing an instrument, a drug, a medicine, or any other substance, device or means with the intent to cause the death of an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant.”

In the year 2019, the Ohio Health Department of Health reported that there were 20,102 abortions committed in our state. Over 6,000 of those were committed in Cincinnati and Dayton combined. There are no abortion facilities within the city of Lebanon, but this ordinance creates a safe haven for the unborn in between these two very dangerous cities.

“Cincinnati Right to Life applauds the work of the pro-life community in Lebanon and thanks the city council members and Mayor Brewer for their courage in defending the unborn,” said Meg DeBlase, Executive Director of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati. “In America we are guaranteed the right to life. We expect government leaders to defend that right above all others, especially for vulnerable populations like the unborn. We encourage other cities to the follow the leadership of Lebanon, and take similar action.”

Mark Harrington, President of Created Equal and the director for the Ohio initiative, said, “Joe Biden has stated he wants abortion in every zip code in America. Hence, citizens across America are acting by preventing abortion from being committed in their communities. Ohio is once again taking the lead to protect children, and more cities are joining this movement every week!” Created Equal is leading the effort to outlaw abortion in the state of Ohio city by city.

Mark Lee Dickson, founder of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn, said, “Cities must be prepared. The future of the abortion industry is not necessarily brick and mortar but abortion by mail or abortion by vending machine at a school or outside of a grocery store.”