More than 150 people, many wearing "Keep Abortion Legal" stickers, filled the Capitol Rotunda on Monday to mark the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, and to urge opposition to House Bill 51, a parental notification measure introduced by Alonzo Baldonado, R-Los Lunas.

If passed, Baldonado's bill would prevent a minor from obtaining an abortion until 48 hours after a written notice has been delivered to her parent or guardian.

Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said he opposes the bill because "Government should not be involved in decisions that are family decisions." He vowed, "We are going to fight as hard as we possibly can," and he urged opponents to fill the committee rooms when the measure is debated. To the sponsors of Monday's event, the New Mexico Coalition for Choice, he added, "We've got your backs here."

Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, warned that bills like parental notification will "keep coming and coming and coming," and, should they reach the floor of the House, "it gets really dicey." It is critically important that pro-choice voters make their views known at the Legislature, he said, and he urged the audience to give a shoutout to the governor in her fourth-floor office, saying, "Her window is right up there."

Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, a member of the group Catholics for Choice, declared that there is "no more critical battle in our Legislature than this one." The privacy of the individual conscience is at stake, he explained, and "there is nothing in our human condition more precious than individuals' ability to make their own choices."

"Republicans love this debate because it gives them the chance to raise money," he added.

Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, listed some reproductive health victories in the Legislature, including the requirement of emergency rooms and urgent-care centers to offer free emergency contraception to victims of sexual abuse, as well as a law saying that health insurance companies doing business in New Mexico must provide birth control in their drug formularies.

Regarding the parental notification bill, she said only 7 percent of those seeking abortions are minors, and the majority do bring their parents with them. Girls who don't notify their parents generally come from dysfunctional families and are "terrified that their families will throw them out" after finding out about a pregnancy, Stewart said. "Let's not put another barrier in front of these women," she urged.

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.




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