New Mexico asks to lift abortion bans
2023.01.24 04:25
New Mexico asks to lift abortion bans
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – On Monday, the top prosecutor in New Mexico asked the state’s highest court to overturn abortion bans imposed by conservative local governments in the Democratic-controlled state, where the procedure is still legal despite Roe v. Wade’s defeat.
The move comes after the Hobbs, Clovis, and two surrounding counties near the Texas border in New Mexico passed ordinances restricting access to abortion clinics and pills.
Raul Torrez, the attorney general of New Mexico, filed an extraordinary writ in the New Mexico Supreme Court to stop the ordinances because, according to him, they were based on incorrect interpretations of federal regulations from the 19th century regarding medications for abortion.
Texas is not this. In a statement, Torrez said, “Our State Constitution does not permit cities, counties, or private citizens to restrict women’s reproductive rights.”
Right-to-life activists asserted that the regulations are still enforceable under federal law and pledged to implement them in additional New Mexico cities, the only state bordering Texas where abortion is still legal.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the nationwide constitutional right to have an abortion in June, the largest cities of New Mexico, Las Cruces and Albuquerque, have become popular regional destinations for women seeking the procedure.
Clovis and Hobbs, which are on the eastern plains of New Mexico, do not have abortion clinics. However, they have approved ordinances to prevent providers from moving there to serve patients from Republican-controlled Texas, one of the first states to impose a near-total ban on abortion.
Democrats in New Mexico have drafted legislation to stop cities from overriding state laws protecting women’s rights to reproductive healthcare as a direct response. The Democratic-controlled state legislature has a good chance of passing the legislation, which is scheduled for discussion this month.
Mark Lee Dickson, an anti-abortion activist, claims that the small town of Eunice became the third town in New Mexico to adopt an ordinance on Monday.
Right To Life East Texas director Dickson stated, “Cities and counties across the state remain on good standing to pass ordinances,” adding that neither the United States Congress nor the United States Supreme Court had ever invalidated the regulations.
