California's San Clemente City Council decided over the weekend not to discuss in a meeting later this month a proposed resolution that would have declared it an abortion-free city, the Washington Examiner reported on Sunday.
The resolution, which was to have been considered at the next meeting on Aug. 16, had seen opposition to it grow since its proposal.
The only vote to keep the resolution on the agenda at the special meeting was from Councilman Steve Knoblock, who drafted the proposal that declared San Clemente a "sanctuary for life" and said "the city stands firmly against" abortion, recognizes that life begins at conception and is opposed to any Planned Parenthood clinics.
"We believe that life is God-ordained and God is the author and finisher of every life," the resolution draft read. "No matter if at the beginning or at the end. As a city council, we will protect and sustain life at every stage. As we ask God to bless America, we first have to honor and respect God."
San Clemente Mayor Gene James, a Republican who is opposed to abortion, said he at first backed a resolution declaring support for overturning Roe vs. Wade, but said he was "appalled" and "embarrassed" after reading what Knoblock had written, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Many residents, including some opposed to abortion, have argued that city officials should concentrate on local concerns, especially since the proposal's effect would have been largely symbolic due to the fact that the right to an abortion will continue to be protected by state officials in heavily Democratic California.
San Clemente, in any case, also has no hospitals or clinics that currently perform abortions, and it has no authority to stop residents from carrying out the procedure in another location.
The proposal had generated great emotion, as hundreds of people filled seats inside the San Clemente Community Center for the special meeting, including an overflow room with a live feed, while abortion rights protesters chanted outside.
Some 50 people spoke against the resolution at the meeting, the San Clemente Times reported.