Proposed bill aims to protect abortion access in New Mexico

By Robert Nott rnott@sfnewmexican.com Jan 13, 2023 Updated 2 hrs ago 0
Home News Legislature | New Mexico Legislative Session

When state lawmakers convene Tuesday for this year’s legislative session, among the bills they expect to see is one codifying a woman’s right to access abortion services in New Mexico.

The initiative, part of a larger reproductive health care protection act, will ensure women can seek out those services “without a fear of retribution or shame or jail,” Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, co-sponsor of the bill with Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said at a virtual news conference Friday.

The move should not surprise anyone following the issue nationally and in New Mexico. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat and an abortion rights supporter, made abortion rights a keystone issue during her campaign against GOP contender Mark Ronchetti. Though Lujan Grisham, who won reelection in November, signed a bill fashioned by lawmakers in 2021 formally removing abortion as a criminal offense, some lawmakers still want to codify a woman’s right to get an abortion.

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New Mexico is not alone in pushing such initiatives. Numerous Democratic-run states have passed laws over the past few years codifying the right to an abortion, seeking to ensure it would remain legal in the event of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had previously protected abortion rights across the country.

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