Gov.: Supreme Court ruling is 'war on women'

Jun. 24—New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the state's Democratic congressional delegates recoiled in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling repealing abortion rights Friday, calling the decision shameful, sinister and regressive.

"The moment we have long dreaded has arrived, and our nation will be the worse for it," Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "With this ruling, the Supreme Court has unilaterally thrown out 50 years of precedent and subverted the will of millions of Americans who believe in a woman's right to make her own decisions about her body."

She added: "Make no mistake: this is a war on women. The effort is not to protect life but to diminish it, to control women and relegate them as second-class citizens."

The state's Republican Party applauded the ruling, calling it a victory for the unborn.

"The decision is in the best interest of America," Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce said in a statement.

"Abortion is wrong on moral grounds and I and everyone who stands for life am pleased at the outcome of this important ruling," he added.

The governor vowed to continue fighting for safe, legal abortion in New Mexico, sentiments echoed by the state's Democratic Party leaders. They congratulated the governor for her support of reproductive rights and called for a united front against Republican candidates, particularly GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti, in the November election.

"The only reason abortion access in New Mexico remains protected is because of the actions taken by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Democratic leaders in our state legislature," the Democratic Party of New Mexico said in news release. "But to keep these protections in place here in New Mexico, we must continue to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.

"This midterm election, the stakes have never been higher," the party said.

"Today, members of the Republican Party are celebrating as countless women and working families across the country grapple with the drastic consequences of this decision," the statement continued. "And the Ronchetti/Thornton ticket have made it clear they want to pass legislation that would restrict abortion, punish women, and criminalize doctors in New Mexico. This November, fundamental human rights are on the ballot."

Ronchetti's spokesman couldn't be reached for comment Friday morning.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico also weighed in, calling the ruling an "appalling attack on bodily autonomy" and urging New Mexicans to fight back "by protesting in the streets, advocating at the Roundhouse, and voting at the ballot box."

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury and U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, all New Mexico Democrats, released statements lambasting the ruling overturning the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade protecting abortion rights and called upon Democrats to push back against conservatives on the issue.

Republican state Sen. Crystal Diamond of Elephant Butte was one of the first among her peers to issue a statementin support of the decision, which she said overturned an outdated opinion and rightfully returned the issue of abortion to the states.

She bemoaned the fact that the state's "radical progressives" have "worked overtime" ensuring abortion rights in New Mexico and predicted the state "will soon become the late-term abortion capital of the country."