ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico denounced the proposed Albuquerque ballot measure that seeks to prevent women from accessing a safe and legal abortion beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy.

 “The extremely personal decision whether to have a safe, legal abortion belongs between a woman and her doctor,” said ACLU-NM Staff Attorney Alexandra Freedman Smith. “This organized effort is all about ignoring the personal circumstances of women and putting the government in the exam room where it doesn’t belong.”

The ballot measure, if certified, would place an item on the 2013 city election ballot that would ban abortions in Albuquerque performed after 20 weeks. The law would provide no exceptions in the case of rape, incest, or severe fetal anomaly. The organizers of the ballot measure work closely with Operation Rescue, an out-of-state organization with a history of harassing women and health care providers.

“We agree with the Albuquerque city attorney that this proposal is an unconstitutional violation of women's privacy,” said Smith. “The decision to end a pregnancy is an extremely complex one for women and their families. The government should not be involved.”

If the ballot measure were to pass, the ACLU of New Mexico would file a legal challenge to have it stricken from the law. The initiative is in clear violation of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, and would likely be struck down by the courts.

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By now, you may have heard the news that an out-of-state group is gathering signatures for an anti-abortion ballot measure in Albuquerque. If they succeed in gathering the required number of signatures, the question will appear on the ballot this fall and put women's health services at risk.
Stand with thousands of other New Mexicans to fight this attempt to interfere in a woman's private medical decisions.
Government and politicians should not intrude on difficult, personal decisions, such as abortion, or whether and when to have children. These decisions should be made between a woman, her family, and her doctor, not by government or politicians.
We've been tracking this effort to interfere in women's private medical decisions since before the news broke in the press. The ACLU of New Mexico, along with a diverse coalition of community groups and women's organizations, has a plan to fight this initiative at the ballot box and in the courts if necessary.
These Texas-style anti-abortion laws don't belong in New Mexico. Pledge to keep private medical decisions between a woman and her doctor.

Lawsuit also asks court to recognize marriages between same-sex couples performed out of state as valid in New Mexico.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Late Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, ACLU national, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Albuquerque law firm Sutin, Thayer & Brown PC and Albuquerque attorneys Maureen Sanders, Kate Girard and Lynn Perls filed a writ of mandamus with the New Mexico State Supreme Court seeking a ruling on the issue of whether same-sex couples can marry in the State of New Mexico. The writ also asks the court to clarify that New Mexico respects the marriages of same-sex New Mexico couples who married in another state, which is necessary to ensure that those couples qualify for all of the federal programs that are now available to married same-sex couples as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision last week invalidating the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

“The United States Supreme Court’s decision to overturn DOMA has increased our sense of urgency to clarify the ability of same-sex couples to marry in New Mexico,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “With all barriers to federal recognition removed, our State cannot stand by as thousands of same-sex couples, many of whom were married out of state, continue to be denied those protections.”

There are more than 1,100 places in federal laws and programs where being married makes a difference, including eligibility for family medical leave, social security survivor’s benefits, and access to health care for a spouse. With DOMA now overturned, same-sex couples could immediately become eligible for these federal benefits and protections, as well as all of the protections given to spouses under state law, if the New Mexico Supreme Court rules that New Mexico law permits same-sex couples to marry and also requires that the state respect the marriage of same-sex couples who have married out-of-state.

“Every day that goes by, same-sex couples and their families are being harmed by not being able to protect their families through marriage,” said NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell. The fall of DOMA has greatly upped the stakes for loving, committed same-sex couples in New Mexico. Now more than ever, we urgently need guidance from the courts on whether these couples can access the protections and societal recognition of marriage.”

A writ of mandamus is a special legal action that permits the New Mexico Supreme Court to resolve an issue without waiting for the lower courts to rule. The New Mexico Supreme Court is not legally required to accept writ petitions, but it may do so when presented with an issue of great public importance.

The ACLU of New Mexico, ACLU national, NCLR, Sutin Law Firm and Albuquerque attorneys Maureen Sanders, Kate Girard and Lynn Perls filed an earlier lawsuit seeking the freedom to marry on behalf of same-sex couples in the Second Judicial District Court on March 21, 2013. If the New Mexico Supreme Court declines to hear the writ petitions, that lawsuit, Griego v. Oliver, will proceed and will determine whether same-sex couples have a constitutionally protected right to marry in the state. 
 

Read a copy of the writ of mandamus here.

 

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The American Civil Liberties Union is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. 
www.ACLU.org.
 
The ACLU of New Mexico is an affiliate of the national ACLU, working in the courts, legislature and communities to protect and extend individual rights and liberties for all New Mexicans. 
www.ACLU-NM.org. 

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. 
www.NCLRights.org.
 
Sutin, Thayer & Browne, with offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, is one of New Mexico's largest law firms, providing exceptional legal services since 1946. More information is available at 
www.SutinFirm.com.