The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico today sent letters to the Alamogordo City Commission and the Otero County Commission reiterating that resolutions opposing the provision of abortion care have no force of law in our state. The letters were sent in response to a recently-passed resolution in Otero County and pending resolutions placed on the agenda tonight by the Alamogordo City Commission seeking to denounce and potentially restrict legal access to abortion care.
Despite the harmful U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision stripping away the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion care at the federal level, abortion remains safe and legal in New Mexico.
Any attempts to enforce these resolutions would be in violation of the New Mexico constitution as well as state law, and any attempts to enforce any anti-abortion resolution or passage of an ordinance restricting the fundamental reproductive rights of New Mexicans would be immediately challenged in court by the ACLU of New Mexico.
Ahead of tonight’s vote in Alamogordo, ACLU of New Mexico Reproductive Rights Attorney Ellie Rushforth issued the following statement:
“The out-of-touch and dangerous anti-abortion resolution passed in Otero County and the pending resolutions in Alamogordo are a shameful attempt to stigmatize essential health care that their constituents access every year. These resolutions are unenforceable and spread confusion about access to abortion for those seeking quality reproductive health care in our state. Not to mention they are a waste of taxpayer resources in communities that already lack access to healthcare. To be clear: Any attempts to enforce these resolutions would violate New Mexico’s constitution and state law. The ACLU of New Mexico stands ready to defend New Mexicans’ right to abortion and all reproductive health care in every corner of our state.”
Copies of the letters are below.
