Abortion rights groups look to consolidate gains in Roundhouse

The Freedom of Choice Act will be introduced in the state legislature again this January.

ALBUQUERQUE — While abortion is legal in New Mexico, thanks to Roe v. Wade, the state still has an old law on the books from 1969 banning the practice.

Advocates for reproductive choice say they plan to push again in the 2009 legislative session for passage of a state Freedom of Choice Act that would repeal the 1969 law and consolidate three decades’ worth of laws protecting access to contraception and abortion. A similar bill died in the House before a vote last year but supporters are hopeful that a new environment in the state Legislature, including more progressive members and a new female governor, will help push the bill to passage.

But it won’t be easy. Legislators will have a huge budget deficit to deal with. Anti-abortion groups are sure to oppose it, and the transition between outgoing Gov. Bill Richardson and incoming Gov. Diane Denish could result in some chaotic power struggles.

“We’re saying this is bad law, an outdated, outmoded law that needs to be taken off the books, and we need to bring New Mexico law into line with federal law. It’s really a clean-up,” says Heather Brewer, the outgoing executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico.

According to a Legislative Finance Committee analysis of last year’s version of the bill (it’s expected to be similar this year), the Freedom of Choice Act would:

… Prohibit the state from denying or interfering with a person’s right to obtain and use contraceptives, or a woman’s right to have an abortion prior to viability of the “conceptus.” The bill would also confer the right to provide reproductive services on health care providers unimpeded by state action. The bill also repeals state laws … which generally impose fourth degree felony penalties on persons performing abortions if the pregnancy termination is not a “justified medical termination.”

“I can’t see FOCA going anywhere when we have a half a billion dollar shortfall,” says Allen Sanchez, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, a group that frequently lobbies to restrict abortion and to protect social service programs.

“The legislators I’ve spoken to feel there’s enough [laws] already in place that they don’t need to go further,” Sanchez says.

Still, supporters are optimistic.

“I think there’s a pretty good chance of getting FOCA through. … I think we still have pretty good numbers in the House and Senate.” says Brian Nichols, an Albuquerque attorney and a director of NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico who has helped to draft the Freedom of Choice Act.

One strategic concession in FOCA, designed to maximize its appeal, is that it would not challenge the federal law known as the “partial-birth” abortion ban.

“It’s a fight that’s not worth fighting,” Nichols says, referring to the ambiguity inherent in the law and the extreme rarity of the procedure.

Trying to get around that particular federal ban might have reduced to nil FOCA’s chances of passing in New Mexico, but leaving it out won’t necessarily sweeten the deal for anti-abortion groups.

“It creates a more difficult way to get any [anti-abortion] legislation, such as parental notification, through the statehouse,” Sanchez adds.

That’s precisely why groups like NARAL want FOCA in place. During nearly every session, anti-abortion legislators introduce bills restricting abortion in some way, such as requiring that teen-age girls notify their parents before getting an abortion. So far, pro-choice supporters have successfully fought off most of those laws. But they’re tired of swatting at flies, they say, and the election of a strong pro-choice president in Barack Obama has given them … yes … hope.

(A federal version of FOCA has also been introduced, but not passed, in Congress. Barack Obama was a co-sponsor of the 2007 Senate version of that bill, and in a speech last year he said: “The first thing I’d do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.”)

“The state — even the nation — is reaching some sort of a consensus that abortion should be safe, legal and available with some limitations,” Nichols says, referring to anti-abortion ballot measures that failed in several states on Nov. 4.

It is not yet clear who will introduce the bill when the state Legislature convenes in January. In the last session it was introduced in the House by Reps. Gail Chasey and Mimi Stewart, both Albuquerque Democrats; this time supporters are considering introducing it in the Senate.

The bill’s chances could be helped by the November election results, which will bring a handful of new, more progressive allies of choice to the Roundhouse. FOCA’s chances could be improved if progressives succeed in an effort to shake up leadership in the Senate and install Sen. Carlos Cisneros, a Questa Democrat, as the body’s leader. The bill’s prospects would dim if Sen. Tim Jennings , D-Chaves, is successful in forming a coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats to retain his leadership post.

And then there’s the governor’s office. Although both Richardson and Denish have been strong pro-choice supporters, Denish has been more intimately involved; She is an honorary board member of NARAL, and some abortion rights advocates view her as more reliable on the issue.

Richardson has indicated that he will not relinquish control of the office until he is confirmed as commerce secretary by the U.S. Senate in February, leaving open the possibility that he could torpedo FOCA to spite a supporter in the Legislature who has drawn his ire. The governor is notorious for using his veto powers to reward those who are loyal to him and punish those who are not.