February 4, 2021
With a vote along party lines, SB 10 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday in what has been the shortest committee hearing on repealing the 1969 abortion ban so far.
The bill now heads to the Senate floor.
Six Democrats on the committee voted yes and the three Republicans voted no. Committee Chair Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, allowed each side 10 minutes for public comment and both the proponents of the bill and the opponents of the bill 10 minutes to give presentations. Cervantes said an email account had been published that allowed additional public comment and those emails had been shared with committee members. Discussion around the bill took about an hour.
Created: February 03, 2021 05:13 PM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Efforts to repeal an outdated state law that criminalizes abortion are moving forward in the Roundhouse after a party-line vote Wednesday.
Senate Bill 10 seeks to nullify a law written back in 1969 that makes it a fourth degree felony for anyone to perform an abortion. The law is currently unenforceable due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling. However, some lawmakers are concerned that the law will be restored if the conservative U.S. Supreme Court overturns the decision.
If passed, the bill would not only formally legalize abortion in New Mexico, but also remove language that allows a medical professional to opt out of performing one if they don’t feel comfortable, or if their religious beliefs prohibit it.
The New Mexico State Capitol, or Roundhouse Wikicommons.
The House Health and Human Services Committee approved a bill that would decriminalize abortion by a vote of 8 to 3, including one Republican who crossed the aisle.
State House Rep. Phelps Anderson, a Republican from Roswell, sided with the seven Democrats on the committee who voted yes to HB 7. Just before the bill went to vote, Anderson expressed some of his views.
“Many people who have spoken to me have expressed strong opinions but I find myself saying I’m not sure one voting yes or no changes anything that is very important to me and, secondly, the issues that have been raised are not encompassed within this bill,” Anderson said.
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.