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Albuquerque voters snubbed a citywide ordinance in the city’s runoff election Tuesday that proposed to prohibit late-term abortions.
Voters took to the polls to weigh in on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance, which would have banned abortion after 20 weeks, excepting situations in which the mother’s life is endangered by the pregnancy.
According to the Office of the City Clerk’s website at press time, 48,042 voted against the ordinance and 38,898 were for it, amounting to about 55 percent against the ordinance and about 45 percent for.
Sam Bregman, chairman for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, said his party campaigned hard to get this ordinance rejected.
“We had young Democrats and various Democrats across the country, as well as New Mexican Democrats, to make sure that we got out the vote,” he said.
Bregman said an important aspect of the election is that Albuquerque voters rejected the “right-wing extremist attack on women” that came from activists outside of the state.
“I’m very proud of the people of Albuquerque for setting a national example that we won’t tolerate other people coming in and trying to dictate what’s right for a woman when it comes to her personal health,” he said.
The election’s outcome was a result of campaigning and Albuquerque’s liberal demographic, Bregman said.
“Albuquerque stands up for women and rejects the idea that government should be involved in the very private health care decisions of women,” he said. “I also know that we worked very hard to make sure we got the message out to Democrat voters, and we got them to the polls.”
Bregman said he hopes an ordinance similar to this will not appear in Albuquerque again.
In contrast, Samantha Serrano, president of anti-abortion UNM student organization Students for Life, said she was disappointed by Tuesday’s results.
“I am truly heartbroken that it didn’t pass, especially since the people who voted against the ban knew that these babies, at 20 weeks and older, feel pain,” she said. “It’s just sad that our citizens … do not care about the unborn child in the womb.”
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Serrano said that although her organization is still uncertain about its next step with regard to its anti-abortion goal, her group will continue fighting for a similar ban in the future. She said she hopes Albuquerque’s attempt for a late-term ban might set a precedent for other cities nationwide.
“We are absolutely not going to stop fighting for these unborn children,” she said. “We didn’t rescue Albuquerque tonight, but that doesn’t mean we can’t rescue it in the future. I think other cities have seen what we’ve done, and they’re not going to tolerate late-term abortions in the country anymore.”
In a speech at an abortion rights event, Jennifer Ford, campaign director for Respect ABQ Women, said the results of this election send a message to the nation regarding abortion rights.
“Let this be a lesson to all 50 states and to Congress,” she said. “Tonight, the people of Albuquerque rejected an extreme agenda pushed by out-of-state, out-of-touch groups that want to end safe abortion altogether.”
The ordinance was not about abortion after 20 weeks, but about trying to abolish abortions all over the country, Ford said. She said work put in by abortion rights groups contributed to the defeat of the ballot measure.
“This ballot measure was not about the very rare occasions where abortion happens later in pregnancy,” she said. “It was part of an organized, coordinated strategy to ban abortions in all 50 states.”
But out-of-state bodies have already vowed to continue to stand beside the abortion ban.
Dana Cody, executive director of the Chicago-based Life Legal Defense Foundation law firm, said that although her organization respects Albuquerque voters’ verdict, it is willing to defend the ban if it gets to court. “We would intervene in any legal action if we could,” she said. “We definitely would be involved in some way briefing the court.”
According to a statement released by the organization before the runoff election’s results were released, Life Legal “is uniquely positioned to shepherd the ordinance through any legal proceedings, having already defended the act against an attempt by Albuquerque City Council to prevent the matter from being included on the ballot.”
Cody said it is highly probable that anti-abortion organizations in the state would bring arguments to court.
“I expect that it would be challenged,” she said. “There’s no way to predict how far it would go in the court system, but I would imagine that it would go to the Supreme Court.”
Cody said she would continue to fight late-term abortions in the city because 20-week-old fetuses can feel pain.
“I don’t think people realize that abortions are even legal at that point of pregnancy,” she said. “We’re talking about a five-month gestation. Clearly, if you look at an ultrasound, it’s a child.”
Cody said she urges Albuquerque residents to keep pushing for the ban. She said she also urges residents to support a similar ban on the federal level, which is currently being discussed in Congress.
“I know that there are efforts now at the federal level in Congress the same sort of ban,” she said. “Support that at a federal level, and try again with the Pain Capable. Why wouldn’t the citizens of Albuquerque try again? This is a serious issue.”
