On November 19, Albuquerque residents will vote on a deceptive ballot measure that would effectively ban abortion after the 20th week without exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities, or the health of the mother. But our students and organizers are standing up and coming together to fight back. The campus team is working hard in ABQ to protect women’s rights and save women’s lives, and our student leaders from that region have been a huge part of the action, be it by getting on the ground or publishing letters in their local papers. This is a roundup of clippings and published work that showcase their focus on protecting the rights of ABQ women.
DailyLobo: Abortion Measure Draws Activists’ Attention
article by Chloe Henson
A nationally known activist discussed a controversial Albuquerque abortion measure on campus Tuesday afternoon.
Dolores Huerta deemed the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance unacceptable in a speech at the Student Union Building.
In her speech, Huerta contested the anti-abortion ordinance, citing the right to an abortion as the “law of the land” because of the 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade. She also talked about the implications of not allowing women to have an abortion.
“If we, as women, cannot make the decision about our own bodies, how can we make a decision about our own future?” she said. “We have to really remind women of that because otherwise, we allow our futures to be controlled by someone else.”
The CNM Chronicle: CNM Students Fight for Women’s Rights
DailyLobo: Anti-abortion Measure a Disaster in the Making
letter by Shaya Rogers, UNM student
I find it truly shameful that these anti-choice groups make women feel like murderers and killers for making decisions that they believe are best for their lives and their families. Contrary to anti-choice rhetoric, making the choice to have an abortion is difficult and often complex. And let’s not forget, it’s a decision that’s deeply personal — not a public mandate. I would never impose my choices on another woman, whose life I might know nothing about. I’m only asking that I be given the same respect…
Women should be respected enough to make these decisions without government interference. We need to move forward, not take steps back. I’m voting against the ban on Nov. 19 for myself, for my friends, for my family and for every woman I know. I support women and I trust that every woman is completely capable of making her own decisions.
DailyLobo: Men Need to Vote No on Abortion Measure
letter by Kris Miranda, UNM student
I keep hearing men demur from taking a stand on this issue because “it doesn’t have anything to do with me.” If those men really believe that, then all of us with Y-chromosomes should vote no just to remove ourselves from the conversation permanently and entirely.
But as Coates makes clear, this fight does affect us. I love many women very dearly. I’m voting against the abortion ban because I don’t face any comparable restriction on what decisions I can make about my own body, and those women deserve such freedom no less than I do. I’m voting against the abortion ban because I don’t want any of them to ever have to face anxieties that I could never understand. I’m voting against the abortion ban because I don’t want any of the women I love to die.
