{"id":609021,"date":"2018-07-31T16:41:38","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T22:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=609021"},"modified":"2018-07-31T16:42:22","modified_gmt":"2018-07-31T22:42:22","slug":"nm-state-law-the-u-s-supreme-court-and-abortion-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/07\/nm-state-law-the-u-s-supreme-court-and-abortion-access\/","title":{"rendered":"NM state law, the U.S. Supreme Court and abortion access"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_405938\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-405938\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-771x471.jpg\" alt=\"Roundhouse\" width=\"771\" height=\"471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-771x471.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-336x205.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-768x469.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1-1170x714.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Roundhouse-1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Heath Haussamen \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Roundhouse in Santa Fe.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Reproductive health care and abortion access may be profoundly personal decisions, but changes to public policy in New Mexico could generate repercussions that extend far beyond the most private experiences of women across the state.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.guttmacher.org\/news-release\/2017\/abortion-common-experience-us-women-despite-dramatic-declines-rates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to recent analysis<\/a>\u00a0by the Guttmacher Institute, nearly one-in-four women in the United States have had or will have an abortion by age 45. And since Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced in June that he would retire July 31, attention\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/856290\/with-likely-scotus-shift-new-mexicans-prepare-for-post-roe-landscape\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on a 50-year-old New Mexico law<\/a>\u00a0has intensified.<\/p>\n<p>Dormant since\u00a0<i>Roe v. Wade<\/i>\u00a0legalized abortion in 1973<b>,\u00a0<\/b>the statute would go back into effect if\u00a0<i>Roe<\/i>\u00a0is overturned. It says anyone who performs an abortion in New Mexico could be charged with a 4th-degree felony.<\/p>\n<p>The social stigma attached to abortion means that many people don\u2019t talk about it openly, said Planned Parenthood of New Mexico CEO Vicki Cowart in a recent interview, but there are millions of women for whom\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/human-interest\/2018\/07\/the-abortions-we-dont-talk-about-six-slate-women-tell-their-stories.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it has played a part in their personal<\/a>\u00a0and family histories.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/865004\/nm-state-law-the-u-s-supreme-court-and-abortion-access\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico Political Report<\/a>,\u00a0a nonprofit news organization\u00a0focused on promoting a greater public understanding of politics and policy in the state of New Mexico.<\/p>\n<h3>Related<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/07\/with-nms-abortion-protections-at-a-crossroads-midterm-elections-could-be-key\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">With NM\u2019s abortion protections at a crossroads, midterm elections could be key<\/a><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAnd that\u2019s the bottom line on this. Getting rid of\u00a0<i>Roe<\/i>\u00a0won\u2019t end abortions. It just means that women start dying again,\u201d Cowart said. \u201cI think we know that viscerally, but it\u2019s really scary for the people who do remember it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>National nonprofit advocacy group NARAL, which opposes restrictions on abortion rights and access, ranks New Mexico as currently having \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prochoiceamerica.org\/state-law\/new-mexico\/#abortion-policies-providers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">protected access<\/a>.\u201d That\u2019s based, in part, on the state Constitution and its Equal Rights Amendment, which NARAL says \u201cprotects the right to choose to a greater extent than the U.S. Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Mexico\u2019s old law criminalizing abortion also includes protections against workplace disciplinary or retaliatory measures for medical professionals who object to abortion on moral and religious grounds.<\/p>\n<p>And while there are exceptions written into the law, they\u2019re not straightforward.<\/p>\n<p>If a woman whose pregnancy resulted from rape or incest needs an abortion, she\u2019d have to either present a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.duhaime.org\/LegalDictionary\/A\/Affiant.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">formal affidavit<\/a>\u00a0to a hospital\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/new-mexico\/2006\/nmrc\/jd_30-5-1-c5a9.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">special medical board<\/a>\u201d or assure the board that she planned to or had already pressed charges against the offender. An abortion would be legal if a woman\u2019s pregnancy resulted in a severe fetal defect or posed a grave risk to the mother\u2019s health, as long as her medical provider received written certification by members of a hospital\u2019s \u201cspecial medical board\u201d that the abortion was warranted.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1973\/02\/10\/archives\/new-mexico-court-upsets-portions-of-abortion-law.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In 1973<\/a>, a Lovington doctor was charged and convicted of \u201ccriminal abortion\u201d under the state law. But the charges were overturned by the New Mexico Court of Appeals, based primarily on the legal precedent set by\u00a0<i>Roe v. Wade<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>In a separate opinion on the New Mexico case, Judge Lewis Sutin wrote that \u201clegislation which seeks protection of prenatal life should not be adopted unless some strong compelling state interest demands it. No such compelling interest exists in New Mexico.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s 1968 criminal abortion law, he wrote, \u201cestablishes beyond a doubt that the statute serves no state welfare or safety interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anti-abortion laws had the same effect on the health and welfare of women that alcohol and drug prohibition did for Americans at large, Sutin said. The underlying causes weren\u2019t stemmed, while criminalization pushed people into an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/truth-o-meter\/statements\/2016\/jun\/24\/hillary-clinton\/hillary-clinton-pregnancy-related-deaths-dropped-a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unsafe, unregulated underground<\/a>. \u201cEvery pregnant woman should have the freedom openly to seek the services of a licensed physician, the use of clean offices or hospitals,\u201d Sutin wrote. \u201cThis is her right to privacy and the right to be left alone. In the event of harm, she is protected by the laws of medical malpractice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Erin Armstrong, a staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalmomentum.org\/legal-cases\/new-mexico-right-choose-naral-v-johnson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">referred to a 1998 state Supreme Court ruling<\/a>\u00a0that cited the state\u2019s Equal Rights Amendment in deciding that low-income women could not be denied access to abortion simply because they were insured through Medicaid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do feel confident that our state Constitution and state courts will protect a woman\u2019s right to choose under our state Equal Rights Amendment,\u201d Armstrong said. However, she added, if\u00a0<i>Roe v. Wade<\/i>\u00a0is overturned and New Mexico\u2019s old statute is still in place, Constitutional protections could still be tested with costly litigation.<\/p>\n<p>New Mexico\u2019s outdated law should be updated, Armstrong said, \u201cto reflect New Mexico values. It feels no less important just because we do have these greater protections in our state Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last year\u2019s attempts\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/201752\/house-panel-passes-bill-to-remove-pre-roe-v-wade-law-criminalizing-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to repeal New Mexico\u2019s 1968 abortion criminalization law<\/a>\u00a0got stuck in state committee proceedings, in part because Republican lawmakers were protective of its moral and religious exemptions for medical personnel. The bill wasn\u2019t heard in this year\u2019s short, budget-focused legislative session.<\/p>\n<p>Yet overturning\u00a0<i>Roe v. Wade<\/i>\u00a0may not be needed to eliminate abortion rights in New Mexico and elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Supreme Court decisions after\u00a0<i>Roe v. Wade<\/i>, such as the landmark 1992\u00a0<i>Planned Parenthood v. Casey<\/i>\u00a0ruling, already paved the way for states to impose a range of restrictions on abortion access, including mandatory waiting periods, fetal gestational restrictions and limits on both public funding and private insurance coverage of procedures.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rewire.news\/article\/2018\/07\/23\/right-push-abortion-illegal-kavanaugh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to legal scholar<\/a>\u00a0David Cohen, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court could rule that abortion regulation is out of federal hands and fully within states\u2019 power to regulate, not regulate or even criminalize. Such a ruling could also potentially open the door to a U.S. Congressional ban on abortion.<\/p>\n<p>Local organizations opposed to legal abortion, such as the New Mexico Family Policy Alliance, New Mexico Alliance for Life and Right To Life New Mexico are all urging supporters to advocate for Brett Kavanaugh\u2019s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>Cowart said she and other abortion rights advocates are alarmed that Kavanaugh\u2019s judicial history includes\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/supreme-court\/how-kavanaugh-ruled-gun-control-health-care-other-hot-button-n890381\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opposition to the Affordable Care Act\u2019s mandate<\/a>\u00a0that employers provide birth control, as well as\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/news\/nation-world\/ct-immigrant-teen-abortion-20171024-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">his opposition<\/a>\u00a0to an undocumented immigrant teenager\u2019s request for an an abortion while she was in federal detention. Kavanaugh\u2019s positions in other D.C. circuit court rulings\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncregister.com\/daily-news\/will-brett-kavanaugh-protect-religious-freedom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">regarding religious freedom<\/a>\u00a0have bolstered supporters and alarmed critics.<\/p>\n<p>Cowart said Planned Parenthood is urging U.S. senators to \u201cinsist any nominee to the Supreme Court affirmatively declare that they believe the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberty and the right of all people to make their own decisions about their bodies and personal relationships, including the right to use contraception, the right to have an abortion, and the freedom to marry whoever they choose. That\u2019s the trifecta.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This presidential administration and U.S. Supreme Court nominee threaten individual liberty and the ability of people to make decisions about their own health, Cowart said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Margaret Wright is a contributor to NM Political Report. Email her at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:margaret.wright@protonmail.com\" target=\"_top\">margaret.wright@protonmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A state statute that says anyone who performs an abortion in New Mexico could be charged with a 4th-degree felony would go back into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":405938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2238,241,107,292],"class_list":["post-609021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2018-election","tag-abortion","tag-roundhouse","tag-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}