Victory for Life in New Mexico After Surprising Turn-of-Events in State Senate, Striking Down Pro-Abortion Bill

Just when things looked most grim for innocent unborn babies in New Mexico, a bill to codify Roe v. Wade, and legalize abortion up until the moment of birth was shot down by the State Senate in a bipartisan vote.

Just like we told you happened in New York, where the state’s governor signed a bill into law that made it legal to abort a baby at any stage, even up to the moment of birth, New Mexico’s proposed legislation, HB 51, would have decriminalized late-term abortion and infanticide. Moreover, the original bill would have eliminated conscience protections by repealing New Mexico’s only statutory provision allowing a doctor to refuse to participate in abortion on moral grounds.

The extreme abortion bill passed New Mexico’s House last month by 40 – 29. Not surprisingly, New Mexico’s pro-abortion governor seemed confident the bill would also pass through the Senate without a hitch, especially with her party in the majority.

But in a stunning turn-of-events, eight New Mexico Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to stand with Republicans and voted 24-18 against killing innocent babies up to the moment of birth.

By a 24-18 tally, Democratic state Sens. Pete Campos, Carlos Cisneros, Richard Martinez, George Muñoz, Gabriel Ramos, Clemente “Meme” Sanchez, John Arthur Smith, and Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen proved what a complicated issue abortion is becoming—even in liberal states.

It’s encouraging to see politicians putting aside party rhetoric and voting with their convictions. As New Mexico state Senator Gabriel Ramos stated, this courageous decision wasn’t made lightly.

During an emotional debate, some Democrats struggled to come up with a reason why New Mexico should leave perfectly healthy babies on a hospital table to die.

Ramos of Silver City told his chamber, “This is one of the toughest decisions any of us will ever have to make.” But, he went on, “I stand unified against legislation that weakens the defense of life and threatens the dignity of the human being.” While others sometimes spoke through tears, the tension inside the Democratic caucus was obvious.

The bill would have repealed a 50-year-old law that makes performing abortion a crime except in cases of rape or imminent risk to the mother’s health, which is still on the books, though is unenforceable due to Roe v. Wade. Abortion advocates wanted the law stripped from the books altogether.

This is yet another big win in a series of recent victories for life. We told you how we recently scored a major victory when we defended pro-life pregnancy centers in New York City. The pro-abortion city has been weaponizing its disclaimer regulations in an attempt to fine and litigate pro-life pregnancy centers out of business. After the city brought bogus charges against one of our clients, a pro-life pregnancy center, we argued, in our brief and at the hearing, that the case was completely meritless and the charges unfounded. The New York prosecutor was unable to counter our arguments, and the city withdrew its targeted case against these pro-life centers, in an abortion-friendly Manhattan hearing room. That is unprecedented.

We also told you about a huge legal victory for life and for taxpayers in Ohio when the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, in an 11 to 6 decision, ruled that a state can choose to defund Planned Parenthood and any other abortionists.

We had filed an amicus brief at the 6th circuit supporting states’ rights to defund abortion providers, and choose to direct funds to actual family planning services.

This overturned a lower court’s decision that had blocked the state of Ohio from defunding the abortion giant.

This major decision now provides a roadmap to defunding Planned Parenthood of millions of dollars at the state level.

We can – and are – winning for life.

Despite pervasive pressure from the abortion lobby, states are rejecting repulsive pro-abortion laws like the ones New York recently passed and Virginia proposed.  Virginia’s bill, which purportedly could have legalized infanticide and was supported by its controversial governor, has since been tabled – an indication that state representatives are choosing to listen to citizens who don’t want to pay for abortions or live in a world where a baby can be killed until the moment of birth.

We are hopeful that more lawmakers around the country will show the same courage and conviction as those in New Mexico.

But the battle is far from over. Other states, like Illinois, Rhode Island, and Vermont, are also considering extreme late-term abortion legislation. The abortion lobby is pushing pro-abortion Leftist candidates and pro-abortion legislation to expand its reach and strengthen its empire.

We recently told you how over 20 states are actually suing, along with Planned Parenthood, to continue funding abortion providers, after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ruled that Title X money is not supposed to pay for abortion. We filed formal legal comments with HHS supporting this critical rule that would defund nearly $60 million of your taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood. The ACLJ legal team is reviewing these pro-abortion lawsuits and preparing to file amicus briefs to defend the HHS rule and keep our tax dollars out of the pockets of the abortion industry.

And we’re investigating the recent New York abortion law to expose who really pushed the legislation. We’re also taking action in Virginia to stop that horrific infanticide bill from ever becoming law.

The ACLJ will not stop fighting until we put a stop to these barbaric new abortion laws, and completely defund and defeat the abortion industry. Countless defenseless unborn babies across the country need us.