We’ve had thousands marching for Women’s Rights, but a march is a moment, not a movement and it is time to do more than march. We can make a strong statement on Saturday at the Roundhouse, but this time we’ll be inside advocating, not outside signing songs and carrying signs. Dems hold a slim 3-2 margin in this committee, one slip and the bill is dead. Be there.
Legal Abortion in NM Now Depends Upon the Supreme Court. But We Can Protect It From the Supreme Court and Secure a Woman’s Right To Choose in NM
Very brief note today. Yesterday evening, the NM Legislature announced that HB 51: Decriminalize Abortion is scheduled for a hearing before the House Consumer Public Affairs Committee at 8:30 tomorrow morning (Saturday). The hearing will be held in the full House Chambers. Retake Coordinators will be at both entrances to the chamber at 7:45 a.m. with speaking points and buttons. If you have them, wear your pink hats and come ready to show the legislature that you care about women’s right to choose and you are paying attention. Whether or not you can be there, you’ll find speaking points and legislator contact info below. If you have a legislator on the list, please call and email today!
A huge turnout will send a signal to the other committees and to the full House and Senate, which must ultimately approve HB 51. Our message is clear: we are tired of elected leadership equivocating about women’s right to choose, our planet’s right to survive, our children and family’s right to thrive, and everyone’s right to healthcare, a living wage, and justice. Post the link to this alert in your Facebook feed. Call friends. Let’s Do This. And if you haven’t joined the Retake Roundhouse Rapid Response Network, JOIN NOW, JOIN HERE.
Retake Our Democracy has developed a list of 20+ MUST PASS Bills and a Statewide Rapid Response Network advocating for them. Anytime one of our bills, like HB 51, goes to committee or the floor for a vote, you get an alert, with date, time, location of hearing, speaking points on bill and contact info for those legislators who will be voting. We’ve packed hearings and jammed phone lines and all of our bills have passed committees so far. Join the movement. You don’t have to devote your life to it, but with the time you have, you can make an important contribution.
If you can’t come to the Roundhouse Saturday, contact info for the legislators on the Consumer Public Affairs Committee are at the bottom of this post. RAISE YOUR VOICE. Even if you can come Saturday, call today to let the legislators voting on this know how you feel.
Share this post. Let’s turn out in huge numbers.
WHY NM LEGISLATORS SHOULD VOTE FOR HB 51
Committees: House Consumer & Public Affairs, Sat, Jan 26, 8:30am House Chamber; Next Committee: House Judiciary
Summary: HB 51 would repeal a 1969 NM statute that makes it a 4th-degree felony for physicians to perform an abortion except in cases of rape, incest or likely birth defects, or to protect the life of the mother. The Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade in 1973 made it unenforceable, but with the current conservative majority on the Supreme Court, Roe v Wade could be gutted. To protect New Mexico women’s right to choose, repealing this outdated legislation is a high priority.
History: Rep. Joanne Ferrary introduced the bill in 2017, but it never got out of committee. In 2018, Gov. Martinez refused to allow the bill to be introduced. Activists anticipate the usual opposition from pro-life advocates, but support for the bill is bolstered by a poll conducted in January 2017: of 1,700 New Mexican rural county residents polled, 77% said they trust women to make abortion decisions for themselves.
Why This Bill Is Good for NM
- Respects NM women’s right to choose to make this personal decision for themselves;
- Removes intrusive and unnecessary government interference in the lives of NM citizens;
- Prevents discrimination by people of some religions against people with different religious beliefs by forcing them to have unwanted children, a matter of religious freedom enshrined in the US Constitution;
- Reduces maternal mortality rate (more women die from childbirth than from abortion);
- Supported by 77% of New Mexicans polled;
- Reduces the number of unwanted and neglected or abused children.
Supporting Organizations
- Planned Parenthood
- ACLU
- Respect NM Women
Consumer & Public Affairs — Abortion Decriminalization Hearing, Sat. 8:30 am, House Chambers
- Dist. 24 – Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson-D, Chair, 986-4425, liz.thomson@nmlegis.gov
- Dist. 46 – Andrea Romero-D, Vice Chair, 986-4254, andrea@andrearomero.com
- Dist. 58 – Candy Spence Ezzell-R, 986-4454, csecows@aol.com
- Dist. 35 – Angelica Rubio-D, 986-4227, angelica.rubio@nmlegis.gov
- Dist. 22 – Gregg Schmedes-R, 986-4453, gregg.schmedes@nmlegis.gov
Let’s Do This! Then have a great rest of your weekend.
Paul and Roxanne, Retake Our Democracy
Categories: Personal & Collective Action, Women and Girls, Women's Rights
I feel interested to read that more women die from child birth than abortion. What are the sources for this information? I’d like to contact my rep, the chair of that committee, but I’d like to know the source before I quote that information. Thanks for all that you do!
I did some math based on what I could find from the CDC. In 2014: 18,800 abortions per 1,000,000 live births in the United States (reported 188 abortions per 1000 births). In that year, only 4 women died from abortions in the United States. In 2016, there were 23 maternal deaths per 1,000,000 live births in New Mexico. The rate was 20/1,000,000 in the US. NM/US maternal mortality rates: https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/health-of-women-and-children/measure/maternal_mortality/state/ALL?edition-year=2016 US abortion mortality rates: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/ss/ss6713a1.htm