It was July 20, and my second consecutive visit to Edinburg City Hall for a council meeting; this time there were more vehicles in the parking lot and even a pickup sporting a Trump 2020 pendant. I thought I had arrived early to make a public comment on an agenda item to “Consider an Ordinance Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Edinburg to Outlaw Abortion and Declare Edinburg a Sanctuary for the Unborn,” but my public comment number to speak was in the high 30s.
I noticed a larger contingent of city staff present as well as an already larger spectator crowd in the meeting room with a seeming divide of handmade signs on the ordinance issue. I was fortunate to find a seat and the spectator crowd continued to grow in number, until the fire department diverted attendees to the balcony or the open lobby entrance for standing-room only.
While the public comments were being made, I could hear the shouts of support from the open interior lobby, balcony and meeting room while opposition mounted against the “sanctuary city for the unborn.” There were heartbreaking personal stories, appeals from women’s rights organizations, members of the community using logic, science and data to implore the council against passing the ordinance.
I have never been more thrilled and inspired by the young women who spoke their opposition of this ordinance. What I witnessed and was proven at that council meeting is that the upcoming generations in our city and the RGV area will be braver, smarter and stronger than any generation of women before them.
Diane Teter, Edinburg
