The 20 week abortion ban in Albuquerque, New Mexico was voted down this past Tuesday in a significant victory for women's health and the continuing fight for reproductive freedom. The proposed ban was the first of its kind to challenge abortion laws on a municipal level rather than on the typical state level. Operation Rescue, an extremely well known and radical anti-choice organization is said to have spent millions of dollars on this new tactic to prevent women from seeking late-term abortions. Albuquerque is home to one of the only abortion clinics in the country that provides abortion services throughout the third trimester and it is frequently women from other states that have to travel to New Mexico in order to utilize this otherwise inaccessible procedure.
The voting results were 45 percent in support of and 55 percent against, the participation rate in the vote was approximately 25% of all registered voters.
The proposed ban was led by Bud and Tara Shaver, Christian missionaries and extreme antiabortion activists. This couple moved from Kansas to New Mexico to try and shut down the Southwestern Women’s Options clinic, one of two late-term abortion providers in the region. Tara Shaver stated: "When we moved here three years ago, our goal was just to bring awareness to what was happening here. This is a little deviation from that. We're going to move forward and keep focusing on that and keep strengthening our effort in the streets." LA TIMES
The ordinance did not include an exception in the case of rape or incest; only in the case of preserving the mothers life. It was in part due to the extreme nature of the bill that many people ending up voting against it.
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