A North Carolina county on Monday became the nation’s first “sanctuary county” to protect pre-born children from abortion after its board of commissioners unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging that life begins at conception.

“The Yadkin County Board of Commissioners,” the resolution states, “hereby recognizes and declares the full humanity of the pre-born child and declares Yadkin County to be a sanctuary for the pre-born where the dignity of every human being will be defended and promoted from conception or fertilization through all stages of development.”

The resolution, which was introduced by the Personhood Alliance, is the first step in a larger, three-pronged strategy to adopt a culture of life in communities across the nation.

“The passage of this pro-life resolution is a historic event,” says Pastor Keith Pavlansky, president of Personhood North Carolina, who leads the Sanctuary for Life effort in the state. “We have returned to constitutional law. We have rejected the ideologies of politicians and judges who permit the killing of pre-born and newly born children, and we look forward to drawing together as a community and helping expectant mothers and fathers as we work to create and defend a culture of life.”

According to a press release from Personhood Alliance, the organization’s three-phase Sanctuaries for Life strategy helps towns and counties “divest from the culture of death and invest in a culture of life.”

“Our first phase simply declares the foundational principles, which are put into action in phase two, when the community comes together to build a culture of life and prepare for phase three,” says Gualberto Garcia Jones, an attorney and president of the Personhood Alliance. “In this final phase, the sanctuary takes peaceful, nonviolent steps to protect pre-born children from abortion and ignores the unjust ruling of Roe v. Wade.”

In addition to a “suitable commemorative plaque” being placed on the grounds of the county government declaring the County of Yadkin a “Sanctuary for Pre-born Children,” the resolution also states that “the Yadkin County Board of Commissioners will organize a public meeting to request input from citizens, churches, and other social organizations to determine possible measures to be adopted within the means and power of the county in order to provide support for mothers and fathers of pre-born children and to become a county that truly welcomes and protects the gift of life from conception or fertilization through all stages of development.”