OPINION: End of Roe v. Wade should energize New Mexico Democrats

Jun. 27—Conservatives lost power in New Mexico the last time an anti-abortion law became a searing issue.

It's a lesson in recent history that might signal a Democratic surge in the fall election.

The U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 vote overturning Roe v. Wade reestablishes a patchwork of abortion laws, state by state. Abortion remains legal in New Mexico. The circumstances of how that happened should help most Democrats, especially Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

In 2019, Lujan Grisham's first year as governor, she pressed legislators to repeal a 50-year-old law that made abortion illegal. That dormant law also made it a felony to perform abortions, except in cases of rape or if childbirth threatened a woman's life.

Those provisions took effect in 1969 but were rendered obsolete after the Supreme Court in 1973 legalized abortion nationwide in Roe v. Wade.

Donald Trump won the presidency in an upset six years ago, and the Supreme Court veered right when he appointed three justices. Roe v. Wade no longer seemed like a precedent that would last.

Lujan Grisham knew if it were overturned, conservative Democrats and most Republican legislators would insist New Mexico's 1969 anti-abortion law was back in full force. The governor wanted the measure erased from the books.

Democratic legislators made their first attempt in 2019. The House of Representatives voted 40-29 to repeal the law criminalizing abortion.

It was a different story in the Senate. All 16 Republicans voted to retain the anti-abortion law, and eight Democrats helped them succeed. Lujan Grisham and other liberals saw their repeal attempt defeated, 24-18.

People who said government shouldn't have authority over a woman's body mobilized at once. Their goal in the 2020 primary election was to oust six conservative Democratic senators who supported the anti-abortion law.

Some of their targets were big names. Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, was the most powerful lawmaker in shaping the state budget.

Grandfatherly, likable and cagily humble, Smith had been a senator for 32 years. Angry Democrats nonetheless believed they could return him to private life. They were right.

Smith lost in the primary. So did four of the other conservative Democrats who voted to retain the anti-abortion law.

They included Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces, who was president pro tem of the Senate. She had been in office for 20 years.

The other targeted Democrats who lost were Sens. Clemente Sanchez of Grants, Richard Martinez of Ojo Caliente and Gabriel Ramos of Silver City.

Martinez hurt his chance for reelection by plowing his car into another vehicle while he was intoxicated. His conviction for aggravated drunken driving was a factor in his defeat, but he might have lost anyway.

Ramos, an incumbent by appointment, was the weakest of the group. A liberal woman, Siah Correa Hemphill, defeated him.

The only targeted Democratic senator to survive his primary was George Muñoz of Gallup.

Republicans in the general election won the seats held by Smith and Sanchez. But overall the Senate gained liberal Democrats for the 2021 session.

One of their first bills was a renewed attempt to repeal the 1969 anti-abortion law.

The revamped Senate struck down the law 25-17. Muñoz and Sen. Pete Campos, a Catholic Church deacon from Las Vegas, were the only Democrats who voted to retain the anti-abortion statute.

The House of Representatives then voted 40-30 to repeal the law. Rep. Phelps Anderson, formerly a Republican, sided with 39 Democrats.

Republicans drove Anderson out of their party because of his stand. He later saw his Roswell-area district redrawn to pair him with a sitting Republican legislator. Anderson, an independent, decided not to seek reelection this year, resigned to the likelihood he would lose.

But the greater show of political clout was by liberal Democrats. They still believe most voters in New Mexico are with them when it comes to the question of whether government should decide who qualifies for an abortion and on what schedule.

Lujan Grisham faces a difficult reelection campaign against Republican Mark Ronchetti. The Supreme Court's decision to return abortion law back to the states will transform their race.

Lujan Grisham's management style and her orders closing many small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic won't be at the forefront of campaign debates.

Ronchetti, who was a television weatherman, won't be hit so hard for his inexperience in management and government. His stand on abortion will get more attention.

"I believe permitting abortion up to 15 weeks and in cases involving rape, incest, and when a mother's life is at risk is a very reasonable position that most in New Mexico will support regardless of party affiliation. This will end the barbaric practice of late-term abortions," Ronchetti said in a statement.

Sen. Correa Hemphill disagrees with Ronchetti's plan of government-imposed deadlines for women.

"Our focus should be removing barriers to reproductive health care so every woman in New Mexico can continue to make these deeply personal decisions in private with her health care provider," Correa Hemphill said.

The race for governor is Lujan Grisham's to lose. The conservative wing of the Supreme Court just helped her cause.

Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.