NM Senate Democrats vote down sensible pro-life legislation

While social conservatives including Rep. Yvette Herrell, Rep. Alonzo Baldonado and many other groups including the New Mexico Alliance for Life and the New Mexico Center for Family Policy put months of effort into supporting pro-life legislation including HB390 and HB391, Senate Democrats did their part to kill the measures Friday, even after both were passed with bipartisan support in the House.

HB390, sponsored by Rep. Yvette Herrell would have ended late term abortion in most cases, and shut down the magnet that New Mexico is for late-term abortion. A few weeks ago I documented instances of Texas abortion advocates raising havoc and gearing up to make phone calls to the New Mexico House after learning that this bill was going to its first committee. The Left was scared that late term abortion access might be limited. New Mexico is clearly out of place as 42 states already have bans on late term abortion.

HB391 would have required parents to be notified before an unimancipated minor could receive an abortion (not even consent, but simple notification).

While HB390 and HB391 were tabled in the Senate Public Affairs Committee two weeks ago, Senator Bill Sharer brought them up for a full Senate vote this morning. All Democrats chose to vote against LIFE with the exception of Senator Pete Campos, of Las Vegas (who is also a Catholic deacon).

The New Mexico Alliance for Life posted the following on their Facebook page:

New Mexico Alliance for Life applauds Sen. Pete Campos-D, taking a stand for HB 390 today on the Senate floor, breaking ranks from 23 Senate Democrats who voted to allow abortion up to the day of birth to continue in NM.

Thursday, pro-life New Mexicans banded together to support HB390 and HB391, with a tweetfest asking Senators to stand for LIFE.

We’re very disappointed in the votes of senators who claim to be pro-life, yet vote against LIFE when given the opportunity to stand up for their values. As the New Mexico Alliance for Life said, 2016 is coming.

Will anti-LIFE votes carry serious consequences for Catholic senators who chose to vote against life? We have yet to see, but it is quite certain that Republicans are already contemplating an attempt to take the senate in 2016…now wouldn’t that be a victory that would be awesome?!