A group of individuals are proposing to the Moore County Board of Commissioners to make Moore County a "pro-life sanctuary", going against laws that are already in place in North Carolina. The following letter will be sent to the Board of Commissioners including all the signatures from this petition. 

Chair Quis and Board Members:

We are writing to you to respectfully remind you that we live here too.

We work in your schools, hospitals and doctors offices, daycares, small businesses, restaurants, and retail stores. We go to your churches. We belong to your civic clubs. We support your charities. We are your neighbors. We are your friends.

We pay sales taxes. We pay property taxes. We vote.

We deserve your representation and your consideration.

For far too long, we have stayed quiet in the shadows while a very small, but very vocal minority, has done everything they can to make Moore County an uncomfortable place for us to live. One of our own elected representatives, who is a leader in their movement, stated at a rally in plain language that their sole goal was to make Moore County an uncomfortable place for us to live.

They are succeeding.

They attend our meetings and events to take our pictures in order to identify us and find out where we live. They stalk us online. They place our names on signs on public roads. They call us "pedophiles," and "groomers," and "murderers," and "pure evil." They harass our families. The talk to our pastors. They talk to our employers. They boo and heckle us at public meetings whenever we dare to speak out to our elected officials.

And now, they are attempting to use this Board as an instrument in their quest to make us "uncomfortable" living here.

The idea that this Board would pass a resolution declaring Moore County to be a "pro-life sanctuary" is ridiculous on its face. This board has no authority to forbid abortions. As of this date, abortion is legal in the entire state of North Carolina. This Board has no power to change that.

In addition, there are currently no clinics or medical practices in Moore County which provide abortion on demand. Individuals who live in Moore County who wish to terminate their pregnancies must already travel out of this county to do so. The only abortions being performed in Moore County are those made necessary by medical emergencies. A declaration by this Board to make Moore County a "pro-life sanctuary" would effectively be a statement against essential medical interventions necessary to save lives.

Any resolution passed by this Board on this issue would be nothing more than a useless, unenforceable statement used to alienate and publicly chastise half of the citizens who live here.

This letter represents the views of a large and diverse group of your constituents. We come from all races, identities, sexual orientations, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and political affiliations. This is not liberal versus conservative, right versus left. This is about protecting the rights of ALL who live and work in this community. We ARE pro-life - that is why we fight. We are pro HUMAN life. We are protecting the rights of the lives of all people who are already breathing and already have birthdays. We believe EVERY American citizen deserves the freedom to make their own choices about their own lives and their own reproductive health.

The Board of Commissioners as a body is responsible for managing county resources and services utilizing the taxes that every resident pays. It is not the purview of this Board to insert itself into matters legislated at the state or national level. It is not appropriate for this Board to make political statements or take sides in a culture war being waged by a small group of angry and intolerant citizens. Again, the Moore County Board of Commissioners has no legal authority to forbid any medical procedure available in this state nor does it have the authority to regulate reproductive health procedures. Any sort of resolution regarding this issue would have no weight in the law. Indeed, the only purpose of such a declaration by this Board would be to reiterate that over half of your citizens are not welcome here and deserve to be made "uncomfortable" by their own elected representatives.

We remind you once more: we are your doctors ,your lawyers, your teachers, your clergy, your servers, your cashiers, your neighbors, and your friends. We are also taxpayers, voters, and your constituents. Our voices deserve to be heard, and we deserve your representation. As your constituents, we respectfully ask that you decline to make any resolution declaring Moore County a "pro-life sanctuary."