Mural by Jodie Herrera commissioned by ACLU-NM
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham could have the bill that decriminalizes abortion care on her desk as early as late Friday, House Speaker Brian Egolf said during a Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico event.
Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico, an arm of Planned Parenthood, held a remote event called “Toast of the Town” Wednesday evening. The Santa Fe Democrat was one of several speakers, including Lujan Grisham as the keynote speaker.
Most of the talk during the hour-long event was about HB 7 and SB 10, mirror bills that would repeal the 1969 statute that bans abortion with few exceptions. SB 10 passed the state Senate in a historic win of 25 to 17 on February 12.
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The swift-moving bill to decriminalize abortion care heads next to the House floor after passing the House Judiciary Committee 8 to 4 Friday.
HB 7, sponsored by state Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, passed along party lines after a three-hour long committee meeting devoted solely to the bill. State representatives on both sides of the aisle repeatedly thanked one another for a respectful debate despite ideological differences on the issue.
The arguments both for and against the bill that will, if passed, repeal a statute that banned abortion in 1969 except under very special circumstances, have remained the same throughout the process. HB 7 will not change the way abortion care is performed currently but many members of the public who are against the bill continue to express fear that medical care providers will be forced to perform abortions despite their personal moral convictions.
January 25, 2021
Unlike 2019 when the New Mexico State Senate blocked repealing the 1969 abortion ban, more than half of the 2021 state Senate have signed on to cosponsor SB 10, this year’s effort.
SB 10, sponsored by state Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, is a bill that will run parallel to HB 7, sponsored by state House Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla. Co-sponsor and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D- Santa Fe, said during a press conference Monday morning held by Respect New Mexico Women, a coalition of nonprofit organizations, that 25 state senators have signed onto the bill for the 2021 Legislature.
The Senate bill was scheduled to be heard in its first committee Monday afternoon.
33% of women felt that the republican party was actually moving farther away from them and was too extreme. so just by that and by the fact that the governor of north carolina who said he wouldn t sign anti-abortion measure, then he got re-elected, then he signed it, then he tanked in the polls. you know, and then terry mcauliffe s win in virginia, and one of the key messages that was most effective was talking about ken cuccinelli s position on abortion. i m just saying as a political strategist type, there s some data out there to suggest that what they re doing is not working. just last week, you had trent franks say in a hearing that, you know, he didn t really think you could get pregnant from rape, right? because part of hb-7 that i ear trying to pass means the irs gets to decide if a woman has been raped and can therefore deduct her medical expenses from her taxes. and martha, the republican party isn t even close to representing the country s view of abortion, which is, of co
completely morally untenable position to take. no matter how you feel about abortion. karen finney, wearing your political strategist hat, how are the republicans doing on their much needed appeal to women voters? well, you know, a national journal poll last fall said that 33% of women felt that the republican party was actually moving farther away from them and was too extreme. so just by that and by the fact that the governor of north carolina who said he wouldn t sign anti-abortion measure, then he got re-elected, then he signed it, then he tanked in the polls. you know, and then terry mcauliffe s win in virginia, and one of the key messages that was most effective was talking about ken cuccinelli s position on abortion. i m just saying as a political strategist type, there s some data out there to suggest that what they re doing is not working. just last week, you had trent franks say in a hearing that, you know, he didn t really think you could get pregnant from rape, right? b