Abortion-rights bill on way to governor's desk

Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, answers question Friday about a bill she is co-sponsoring to repeal an old law making most abortions illegal in New Mexico (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)

SANTA FE — New Mexico lawmakers ended a bruising, two-year debate Friday with passage of a bill repealing the state's 1969 anti-abortion law — delivering on a longtime priority of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The legislation, Senate Bill 10, won approval in the House 40-30 on Friday and now goes to the governor's desk. Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, said passage of the bill would guarantee abortion rights, in case the U.S. Supreme Court revisits its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. "I know we can each hold our own personal beliefs about abortion and still fundamentally trust New Mexicans to make these private decisions for themselves," Lara Cadena, a co-sponsor of the bill, said during Friday's three-hour debate. Speaking shortly before the vote, Lujan Grisham said she would sign the bill as soon as it reaches her desk. Decriminalizing abortion, she said, could save women's lives. Friday's debate in the House was tense and sometimes emotional. Republican Rep. Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences spoke about her own unexpected pregnancy at 19 and hearing a heartbeat during an ultrasound. "It changed the trajectory of my life," Dow said. My daughter "has been one of the most wonderful things I've done — to choose life for her." She and other Republicans voted against the bill. The legislation repeals a state law — now largely unenforceable — making it a crime to end a woman's pregnancy, except in certain circumstances, such as rape. The law on the books also says the procedure must be approved in writing by a hospital board. Lujan Grisham, a Democrat and former state health secretary, has pushed for repeal of the criminal abortion law since taking office in 2019. "This is about women who deserve the right to participate (in an abortion) when there are untenable circumstances, and to have a relationship with their provider and with their own bodies," Lujan Grisham told reporters during a remote news briefing. Debate over the bill has reshaped the composition of the Legislature. It emerged as a key issue in the 2020 primary election, when five Democratic senators who opposed the measure lost to challengers from the left. House action on the bill Friday came about a week after it cleared the Senate 25-17 last week.