Mark Lee Dickson

Dickson was brought up in Longview, Texas. As a child, he attended county fairs with his grandfather’s “small mom-and-pop" anti-abortion group - Right To Life of East Texas. Dickson attended Kilgore College periodically but dropped out in order to pursue ministry work. In the meantime, he worked at a nursing home, as a pastor at a Baptist church, and as a security guard.[1]

Dickson often bills himself as a “36-year-old virgin”. He has stated that he has had no personal experience with abortion, and that his battles with depression have helped him reflect on the value of life.[1][2]

Dickson is a supporter of former President Donald Trump, and believes that he won the 2020 election. He attended the "Save America" rally on January 6, 2021, but claims that he did not enter the Capitol.[1]

He considers all abortions murder, with no exceptions.[3]

Before 2019, Dickson frequently protested outside abortion clinics.

In 2019, the pastor launched his "sanctuary city" initiative. Concerned that an abortion clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana might cross the border and relocate to the small town of Waskom, Texas, he joined conservative attorney and former Solicitor General of Texas Jonathan F. Mitchell to draft legislation regarding sanctuary cities.[4][5] The duo were able to convince the all-male city council to pass the legislation, rendering it the country's first municipality in the country to ban abortion.[6][7]

Ever since his success in Waskom, Dickson has traveled all over Texas, lobbying towns and cities to ban abortion within city limits and become “sanctuary cities for the unborn”.[8][9] At least 46 municipalities have followed suit and enacted similar ordinances, including two in Nebraska,[10][11] two in Ohio,[12][13][14] and one in Louisiana.[15][16] The largest city to have enacted one of Dickson's ordinances is Lubbock, Texas.[17] Two cities, Omaha, Texas and Mason, Ohio,[18] later retracted ordinances which Dickson had convinced them to enact.[19]

Dickson has been sued by several abortion-aiding organizations for defamation for statements he has made accusing abortion-aiding organizations of taking "part in the murder of innocent unborn human beings."[20] He is also the sole non-government actor defendant in a federal lawsuit challenging the Texas Heartbeat Act.[21]

Dickson has been described as an “extremist” and " the primary face and architect” of the Texas Heartbeat Act by Kristin Ford, acting vice president of the pro-choice advocacy group NARAL.[1]

Dickson serves as the Director of Right to Life of East Texas and is the Founder of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.