NM Supreme Court Rules Against Life
Yesterday, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the implementation of local pro-life ordinances passed by several New Mexico cities and counties including Lea and Roosevelt County, and the cities of Hobbs and Clovis. The decision further establishes New Mexico as having some of the most liberal and extreme abortion laws in the country.
Justice C. Shannon Bacon, writing for the majority, asserted that state law restricts local governments from regulating abortion services claiming that the ordinances infringed upon the legislature's authority over reproductive healthcare. On February 26, 2021, the State legislature eliminated ALL laws regulating abortion in New Mexico, essentially making our state the wild west when it comes to abortion. The court emphasized that their ruling was based on state law and did not address any constitutional questions.
The recent ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court against pro-life city and county ordinances comes as no surprise, the Courts is composed of anti-natalist activists.
That being said, this ruling is not all bad news. The New Mexico Supreme Court made clear that they would not create a constitutional right to abortion.
The ordinances were crafted using the federal Comstock Act, which prohibits the mailing of abortion-related materials, which would include unsafe abortion pills.
Although the Court struck down these ordinances, it did write, “It is an enduring principle of constitutional jurisprudence that courts will avoid deciding constitutional questions unless required to do so,” adding, “Our forbearance of the constitutional questions, however, should not be construed as commentary on their merit. Rather, we heed the canon of constitutional avoidance and refrain from deciding constitutional issues unnecessary to the disposition of this case.”
During the case, Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office argued that the ordinances violated the New Mexico Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment, but the New Mexico Supreme Court declined that argument, writing, “We therefore decline to reach the State’s additional arguments under the New Mexico Constitution.”
The Court concluded, “We hold the Ordinances are preempted in their entirety based on the independent and adequate state law grounds provided in the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act, the Medical Practice Act, the Medical Malpractice Act, and the Health Care Code, as well as the Uniform Licensing Act.”
As of March 2023, State law requires that all public employees must affirm abortion as the only choice. Now, the New Mexico Supreme Court, by ruling on the matter, has paved the way for the case to be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court. This forced compelled speech, and thought is a direct afront to the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.
Attorney Jonathan Mitchell, who led the fight in these ordinances and worked on the litigation, wrote, “We are thrilled with the New Mexico Supreme Court’s ruling.”
He added, “This is the first court to hold that an ordinance requiring compliance with the federal Comstock Act prohibits the shipment and receipt of abortion-related paraphernalia in states where abortion remains legal. We look forward to litigating these issues in other states and bringing the meaning of the federal Comstock Act to the Supreme Court of the United States.”