New Mexico and Roe v. Wade
The recently exposed draft memo from the Supreme Court about Roe v. Wade dealt a gut punch to a woman’s right to privacy. It is a direct affront to women making private decisions about their health and reproductive choices.
Since 1972 when Roe v. Wade was upheld by a 7-2 vote, women have enjoyed the right we deserve, to make healthcare decisions without government interference. Today more than half of Americans, including New Mexicans, believe abortion should be safe, legal, and protected.
During the last week, the leak of the memo and the potential ruling have been thoroughly dissected. There isn’t much that hasn’t been said, but some things are worth repeating.
First, ignore the Republican rhetoric that the story is about the leak. It is not. It is about the substance of the potential ruling.
Howls about protecting the secrecy of the court and breaches of trust or protocol are ignored when the majority of the court, citing archaic history, is willing to deny millions of women the right to privacy.
The opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito who appeared to demean his predecessors – also a violation of court protocol. He used historical references to the 1600s, when women were being executed for witchcraft. Not a subtle reference.
Sen. Mitch McConnell feigned outrage about the leak to change the subject so as not to put Republican candidates at risk of losing in November. But voters understand the right to privacy is being denied to half the population.
Buried in the draft is a suggestion that we need “a domestic supply of infants” for adoption. That implies using forced pregnancies to create a boon to the for-profit adoption industry. It ignores the 400,000 foster care kids who need adoptive families now.
As drafted, the ruling would relegate authority to the states to protect or deny women abortion access and privacy. Male-dominated legislatures in half the states have already passed trigger laws outlining bans, restrictions, and possible punishment for women.
What does it mean for New Mexico?
In 1969 the Legislature passed a law making abortion illegal. There were few exceptions. If you had an abortion, you could be charged with a fourth-degree felony. If you performed one, it would be a second-degree felony.
It was common to hear stories of women traveling to Mexico to get an abortion although it was illegal there as well. Some had enough money to pay an American doctor willing to perform an abortion in violation of the law. Some tried self-induced methods causing sepsis, death, or sterilization. Passage of Roe v. Wade in 1973 muted the New Mexico law, but it remained on the books.
Fast forward to 2016. Advocates and elected officials began to anticipate the overturning of Roe V. Wade. The old law criminalizing abortion would then apply. Anticipation became a plan of action: Repeal the 1969 law.
After a failed repeal attempt in 2019 two things occurred. A handful of legislators who voted against repeal were defeated in the 2020 elections. In 2021 a newly constituted legislative body passed and the governor signed SB 10. Abortion was no longer illegal in New Mexico.
New Mexico will be a protector, not a prosecutor.
It is likely more providers of women’s health services will open in New Mexico, escaping restrictive laws elsewhere. Women will continue to travel from other states seeking access to care.
The governor and the Legislature must plug any legal loopholes that jeopardize providers or patients. They should expand tele-health services for medical abortions across state lines and continue training medical residents in abortion care practices.
In New Mexico, the gut punch gets a counter punch. We will not go back.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: New Mexico and Roe v. Wade
