Zone defense

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NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 3rd of March.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

First up: Local leaders in Virginia are using zoning ordinances to shut abortion businesses out of their communities.

Many pro-lifers say the approach is a good one. But others say the regulations don’t go far enough.

WORLD’s Lauren Canterberry has the story.

LAUREN CANTERBERRY: Last month, residents of Lynchburg, Virginia packed the city council chambers to give testimony about a proposed zoning ordinance. The new regulation will significantly restrict where abortion facilities can open within city limits.

About 70 people spoke at the meeting, with the overwhelming majority supporting the ordinance.

MIKE MAURICI: The zoning amendment before you, as you’ve already heard, is simple in its purpose. It simply places reasonable limits on where these facilities can operate.

JESSE HUGHES: You hold the power of life in your hands whether you realize it or not.

ALEXIS STOKELEY: There is no one more vulnerable than a child who cannot speak, vote, or defend themselves.

The council voted 4-2 in favor of the ordinance.

City Council member Martin Misjuns said the protections are in line with the community’s values.

MARTIN MISJUNS: I can’t imagine what it would look like if an abortion clinic petitioned to come into Lynchburg. The number of people that would show up to speak out against it would be exponential.

Other municipalities are also considering similar legislation as a proactive response to a November ballot item that could enshrine abortion into the state constitution. If that amendment passes, some pro-lifers worry that abortion businesses could flood Virginia.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and pro-life trigger laws took effect in states like Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky, thousands of women began traveling to Virginia for abortions.

Currently, the state is the only one in the south that allows abortions through the second trimester of pregnancy. And a baby may still be killed later if three doctors agree that the mother’s physical or mental health is at risk.

DAVID RADFORD: Virginia is basically an abortion tourism state.

David Radford is the vice chairman of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors.

Last month, Radford and his fellow supervisors directed the county’s planning commission to evaluate an ordinance similar to the one that passed in Lynchburg. Roanoke County is located about 50 miles from West Virginia where babies are protected in nearly all cases.

There are three abortion facilities in the county. Radford said he and other local lawmakers started considering zoning ordinances after the newest facility opened in Vinton in 2024.

After Summit Medical Centers submitted paperwork to open an abortion facility in Vinton, residents pushed back. The town council approved an ordinance requiring a special use permit for abortion facilities.

But they were too late to stop Summit and the facility opened just a few months later.

MISJUNS: They caught them by surprise. That’s what’s happening in Virginia right now. These out-of-state providers are targeting Virginia cities.

While the ordinances do not ban abortion outright, Misjuns and Radford agree that the change is the most legally defensible way to control where such facilities operate.

Virginia is a Dillon’s Rule state, which means local governments only have powers that the state legislature explicitly granted to them. Radford said that includes zoning.

RADFORD: Our basic ability at this point is we want to identify and call it out and give the public a chance to oppose it.

Otherwise,

RADFORD: It looks like Virginia could be the capital of abortion on the East Coast.

While many local pro-life leaders see these zoning ordinances as a win, others say they are not really protecting unborn babies. Mark Lee Dickson, founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn initiative, believes abortion should be outlawed in the same way many municipalities ban prostitution.

MARK DICKSON: We do not say it is OK for women to prostitute themselves on this street corner but not that street corner. We do complete bans across the board.

More than 100 cities and counties across the country have done just that, introducing sanctuary ordinances outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking. Dickson says the regulations are based on the federal Comstock Act, which prohibits mailing drugs or tools used to perform abortions. He argues that abortion businesses can be banned because they are violating federal law.

Supporters of such bans believe municipalities should not treat abortion facilities as businesses to be zoned, but as criminal entities.

DICKSON: We shouldn’t even entertain organizations coming into our cities, coming into our counties, saying that they want to end the life of innocent children made in the image of God.

Dozens of cities and counties have successfully introduced Dickson’s sanctuary ordinances. But some legal experts say federal law is too easy for Congress to change and is difficult to enforce.

JOSH HETZLER: I wouldn’t hang my hat on the Comstock Act.

That’s Founding Freedoms Law Center’s Josh Hetzler.

HETZLER: If Virginia law says generally there’s an absolute fundamental right to abortion, I don’t think the local government is going to be able to say otherwise.

Hetzler acknowledges that a zoning ordinance won’t protect all unborn babies. But he still sees the tactic as a small victory.

HETZLER: There may be a way that is more perfect and we should continue to strive for that. But it’s not a compromise to move the ball forward.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Lauren Canterberry.

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