Albuquerque Votes On Abortion Ban With National Impact

[PeaceNikki]

Albuquerque residents are voting Tuesday on a ballot measure that would ban abortions in the city 20 weeks after fertilization based on the disputed idea that fetuses feel pain at that point. The ban makes an exception for situations in which the mother would die without the abortion, but has no exceptions for fetal anomalies discovered late in the pregnancy, for situations in which the mother's health is severely affected by the pregnancy, or for victims of rape or incest.

While the measure is only a municipal ban, not a statewide ban, it would affect women far outside of Albuquerque. The only two providers of abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in New Mexico are located in Albuquerque, and one of those clinics -- Southwestern Women's Options -- is one of only four clinics in the nation that provides abortions after 26 weeks. Neighboring Texas enacted a 20-week ban on abortions earlier this year, so most women across Texas and New Mexico have to drive to Albuquerque for an abortion if a difficult situation arises late into her pregnancy.

"The ban's target is the clinic women depend on to get safe and legal medical care in these difficult circumstances -- cancer late in pregnancy, fetal abnormalities -- women from our state are traveling three, four, five hours to get this care," said Julianna Koob, legislative advocate for Planned Parenthood New Mexico. "So Albuquerque voters have a lot of weight on their shoulders."

National anti-abortion groups, such as the Susan B. Anthony List, have been pouring money into Albuquerque and campaigning there to help the measure pass. It would be the first municipal ban on abortions and would provide momentum for the national 20-week abortion ban, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year and was recently introduced in the Senate.

Lauren said it frustrates her that the people of Albuquerque may not understand that so many women among them and throughout the state are faced with situations in their pregnancies that require them to make extremely difficult choices. "It's not that it could happen in New Mexico -- it does all the time, far more often than people think," she said. "People just don't talk about it. They like to pretend that babies are all made healthy, and everyone could make any choice they wanted. And that's not the case."

It will pass. People are voting on medical decisions for women. This is what we're up against. More at link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/albuquerque-abortion_n_4301860.html

[Ptah]

1. Early, absentee voters oppose abortion ban

Early and absentee voters oppose the proposed abortion ban by a margin of nearly 12 points, according to unofficial totals just posted by election workers.

About 56 percent of the ballots counted so far are against the ban, and 44 percent are in favor. None of the Election Day votes have been tallied yet.

About 50,000 people voted early or absentee.

http://www.abqjournal.com/304288/news/abq-news/abq-clerk-aggressive-protesters-draw-complaints.html

[PeaceNikki]

2. An Albuquerque Journal poll conducted in September showed that 54 percent of likely voters in the

city were planning to support the ballot measure, while 39 percent opposed it.

[Ptah]

3. Albuquerque voters soundly reject late-term abortion ban

Voters in New Mexico's largest city soundly defeated a ban on late-term abortions in a municipal election that was being closely watched as a possible new front in the national abortion fight.

Voters rejected the measure 55 percent to 45 percent on Tuesday following an emotional and graphic campaign that brought in national groups and hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising. The campaign included protests that compared abortion to the Holocaust and displayed pictures of aborted fetuses.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57613091/albuquerque-voters-soundly-reject-late-term-abortion-ban/