On Friday, June 24, the Supreme Court reversed Roe vs. Wade, leaving abortion rights decisions up to individual states and eliminating federal constitutional protections of abortion rights that have been in place for nearly 50 years.
A protest of the decision is set for 6 p.m. Friday at Tiguex Park, 1800 Mountain Road NW in Old Town.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Twitter, “Today, a new generation of women will be forced to face a future where they cannot seek safe, legal abortions. We have long feared this moment and I’m going to continue to fight like hell to ensure every New Mexico woman has access to reproductive health care.”
The Respect New Mexican Women and Families Act was signed into law last year, removing any abortion bans and revising laws in the state that preceded Roe.
New Mexico abortion clinics, mostly based in Albuquerque, anticipate becoming overwhelmed with an influx of women coming from other states and could cause delays and affect quality of care for local women’s reproductive health.
The U.S. Senate blocked efforts to codify Roe vs Wade with the Women’s Health Protection Act last year with a 50-50 vote. New Mexico Democratic U.S. House of Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández and Melanie Stansbury voted in favor of the bill last year, while Yvette Herrell voted against it.
