Santa Fe, N.M., Nov 19, 2018 / 15:29 pm
A group of New Mexican legislators seeks to overturn a state law that would make abortion illegal if Roe v. Wade were overturned, part of a developing trend among the handful of states with laws that criminalize abortion.
Currently, New Mexico law states it is a felony for an abortionist to perform an abortion, with exceptions for rape, birth defects, and to preserve the health of the mother. This law, which dates to the 1960s, has not been enforced since 1973, when the Supreme Court found a right to an abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy.
Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces) intends to introduce a bill in the next legislative session that would remove this law from the books. This proposed bill is supported by the state's governor-elect, Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), as well as the state's House Speaker and Senate majority leader. The legislative leaders have tabbed the bill as a "high priority" for the upcoming session of the legislature.
Lujan Grisham said that she believes the law criminalizing abortion to be "antiquated" and one that would "punish women." She has pledged to sign the bill if it were passed through the legislature.