UPDATE, 3/1/21: Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill 10 into law last week.
UPDATE 2/22/21: The New Mexico House has voted 40-30 to approve Senate Bill 10, which will repeal the state’s decades-old pro-life law that outlawed abortion in 1969. The bill will now head to the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham who has pushed for the repeal of the law since taking office and has said she will sign it immediately. The bill will guarantee abortion remains legal in New Mexico in the event that the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the U.S. in 1973.
UPDATE 2/12/21: The New Mexico Senate passed Senate Bill 10 on Thursday in a 25-17 vote, taking a major step towards ensuring abortion is legal up until birth in the state even in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned. Republican senators were joined in opposition to the bill by two Democrats — Sen. Pete Campos and Sen. George Muñoz. Democratic Gov. Michelle Luan Grisham is expected to sign the bill if the New Mexico House passes the similar House Bill 7.
2/9/21: Two extreme abortion bills are heading to the New Mexico House and Senate this week. House Bill 7 and Senate Bill 10 would allow abortion up to birth in the state.
The bills would repeal sections 30-5-1 through 30-5-3 of New Mexico’s 1969 abortions statute. In doing so, they would allow abortion on demand throughout pregnancy in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned, and would also end conscience protections that allow medical personnel to opt-out of abortion based on moral or religious grounds. The bills would also remove requirements that parents be aware of a minor daughter’s abortion.
According to New Mexico Alliance for Life, the bills will repeal all abortion restrictions put in place by the state’s 1969 criminal abortion statute and would fail to replace the statute with any laws that protect women, their babies, or pro-life health care workers. The bills will actively codify abortion up to birth in New Mexico state law, force medical professionals to commit or assist in abortions, and force New Mexico taxpayers to continue funding abortions on healthy babies and women throughout pregnancy.
Senator Gregg Schmedes, who is a medical doctor, voiced concern over the proposed removal of conscience protections, saying that change could push doctors to leave the state.
“When we see people getting fired from hospitals because of conscience issues, is it reasonable for a New Mexico doctor to be a little bit afraid of, ‘Could that happen to me if Senate Bill 10 passes?” he said. “The way that I interpret this bill is that you are forcing doctors and nurses to participate in abortion against their will.”
Another concern is that without parental notification surrounding abortion, teen sexual abuse victims, including those who are being sex trafficked, will be taken to the abortion businesses for abortions and returned to their abusers. Live Action’s Aiding Abusers investigation exposed how the abortion industry covers up child abuse and protects child abusers.
Currently, the 1969 criminalization of abortion is unenforceable due to the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling. However, in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned, New Mexico’s law would revert back to the abortion restrictions set in 1969. These extreme bills will ensure that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion will be legal on demand and throughout pregnancy in New Mexico.
Pro-lifers in New Mexico are urged to contact every member of the House and Senate. There is also an online petition available to sign.
In addition to these pro-abortion bills, House Bill 160 concerning COVID-19 protocols at abortion facilities will be heard by the New Mexico House Health Committee this week. The bill would hold abortion facilities accountable to uphold safety protocols by requiring anyone who travels to the state for an abortion quarantine.
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