Back On The Table: Abortion

At least three bills restricting access to abortion are likely to be introduced in the current New Mexico legislative session, and activists on both sides of the issue expect them to go much further than in recent years.

"It's very scary," says Dana Middleton, president of the Santa Fe chapter of the National Organization for Women, which supports abortion rights.

Earlier today, a well-attended rally organized by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe marched from the city's Cathedral Basilica to the Roundhouse, where clergymen, activists and lawmakers spoke in support of bills that would curb choices for pregnant women. With a Republican-controlled state House of Representatives and a Republican governor, anti-abortion activists expect to have more success in pushing bills than before.

"We've got a window of opportunity," Allen Sánchez, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, told protestors in the Roundhouse rotunda after the march.

He was also joined by seven state lawmakers, all Republican.

"This isn't all," state Rep. Kelly Fajardo, R-Valencia, told the crowd, referring to sympathetic lawmakers who didn't show up to the rally. "We're fighting this fight together."

At the rally, organizers passed out sheets of paper for people to sign, affirming their support for bills that would require minors to get parental notification before obtaining abortions, call on doctors to distribute information on medical risks and alternatives to the procedure to women seeking abortion and banning all late-term abortions.

Each measure has been introduced as a bill in recent years, yet none of them have ever cleared House committees. The bills haven't been formally introduced this session yet, but with a new Republican-controlled House, they're expected to at least clear the House. They'll likely face a tougher time in a state Senate still controlled by Democrats, who usually lean in favor of abortion rights.

Both pro- and anti-abortion rights activists will be zeroing in on the Senate committees. Many anti-abortion activists even expressed confidence that the bills have enough support on the Senate floor to pass.

"Three or four senators are the key to this whole thing," state Sen. Bill Sharer, R-San Juan, tells SFR. "[People] can have a massive effect if they show up [and talk to their legislators]."

Likewise, Middleton says the New Mexico Coalition for Reproductive Choice will send someone to testify against each of the bills at each committee hearing.

More rallies on the divisive issue are coming, including a national anti-abortion rally tomorrow. The Coalition for Choice is planning a rally celebrating the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade next Thursday at the Roundhouse.

Santa Fe Reporter