Demonstrators opposing the the anti-abortion exhibit erected on campus this week by Justice For All Inc. say they fear such groups are whittling away at women's rights to abort a pregnancy.
"We support freedom of speech but also choice," said Sasha Sampaio, a representative from the New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on hand to help the College Democrats, the National Abortion Rights Action League and Students Educating Peers About Sex distribute information.
In one form or another, abortion has been legal in the state of New Mexico since 1969.
Though the historic Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized on-demand abortion, wasn't passed until 1973, New Mexico was one of 17 states to allow limited abortion procedures.
A woman could get an abortion if the pregnancy seriously threatened her health, if it resulted from rape or incest or if the fetus had been determined to have a grave physical or mental defect.
After the 1973 decision, which resulted from a class action suit against the state of Texas, which had similar guidelines for abortions, the U.S. Supreme Court prescribed guidelines for legal abortions.
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According to the ruling, during the first three months, the decision is between a woman and her doctor. During the second trimester, the state may impose regulations on procedures that might harm the mother.
In the third trimester, which is 27 weeks or more into the pregnancy, abortions are only allowed if they save the health or life of the woman.
In New Mexico, the latest any doctor will perform an abortion is at 19 weeks, according to the National Abortion Rights Action League.
According to the organization, 39 unsuccessful attempts have been made since 1969 to restrict abortion laws in the New Mexico Legislature.
Two years ago, Gov. Gary Johnson signed a bill outlawing partial birth abortions - a procedure usually performed in the third trimester that involves dilating the cervix, inducing partial birth of the fetus and then removing its brain to facilitate further removal without further injuring the mother.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that between 300 and 600 partial-birth abortions are performed in the United States each year, which is less than 1 percent of the estimated 1.5 million abortions performed annually nationwide. About 95 percent of all abortions are performed in the first trimester, according to the organization.
Many states have similar bans on such procedures, according to the organization.
During this year's legislative session, a bill that would have required doctors to notify parents of a minor seeking an abortion died when the session ended earlier this month.
Sampaio said the New Mexico ACLU believed the bill would endanger the lives of teenagers.
"For one, most teens do already tell a parent or trusted adult," she said, adding that the fraction that didn't might resort to traveling to another state or Mexico, or worse, committing suicide.
"Maybe they're victims of rape or incest and don't want to talk about it."
She said the legislation, which sponsors called a "family bill," ignored the reality of abortion.
"They're always counseled by a doctor anyway - it would just create a huge reporting burden for doctors and the health department," she said.
Abortion-rights supporters say national bills, like the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2001, which is now in the U.S. Senate, could erode the 1973 decision by classifying the unborn fetus as human.
"I think they're trying to chip away at Roe v. Wade," said Alma Rosa Silva-Ba§uelos, a UNM student and member of the Progressive Student Alliance, which participated in several counter demonstrations Monday and Tuesday. "I think no aspect of abortion should be illegal. It starts breaking down the choice and availability of safe health care and abortions."
According to the National Abortion Rights Action League, childbirths to unwed mothers in New Mexico are 29 percent higher than the average and represent about half the state's total births.
Teenage pregnancy rates are about 40 percent higher than the national average, according to the league. The organization estimates that between 4,000 and 5,000 abortions are performed in New Mexico annually.
About 82 percent of New Mexico counties do not have an abortion provider, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a national women's health research organization.
