According to the Chicago Tribune's Carey Gillam :
Albuquerque to put first-ever municipal abortion ban on ballot
September 17, 2013
(Reuters) - A bill banning abortions in Albuquerque after 20 weeks of pregnancy will be put to voters in New Mexico's most populous city in November and could become the first municipal abortion ban in the nation.
The city council voted 5-4 late on Monday to put on the ballot the "Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance," which contains few of the standard abortion exceptions seen in many states.
In the latest salvo in the national debate over abortion, the city council was forced to act after abortion foes gathered enough signatures on a petition to require the council to either approve the law outright or put it to voters.
Local polling has shown the measure has enough support to pass. Activists on both sides say it would be the first municipal ban on abortion, and possibly a template for similar actions in other cities around the United States.
The actions related to the resolution are
here. The text of the resolution is
here. The minutes for the meeting are
here.
Planned Parenthood and Move On sent out an email and has a petition to sign here:
http://petitions.moveon.org/...
Their email reads:
Late Monday night Albuquerque's City Council, by a 5-4 vote, placed one of the country's most extreme abortion bans on the ballot for a November 19 special election.
Out-of-state and out-of-touch groups announced their plans to put a Texas-style abortion ban on our own city election ballot this October in a first in the nation test of a new strategy to ban abortions city-by-city.
Even though the city attorney has said it’s unconstitutional, they have an agenda to shame and judge Albuquerque’s women and make it impossible for New Mexico women to access safe and legal abortions.
Every pregnancy is different and making a decision to end a pregnancy is a deeply personal and often complex for a woman and her family. The government has no role in these deeply personal decisions, but that isn’t stopping these out-of-state groups from trying.
We respect Albuquerque’s women and that’s why we’re fighting so hard to stop this measure.
It is vital that we continue to reach thousands of voters every week to tell them to vote NO on the measure that would restrict access to safe and legal abortions.
If you would like to contact the Albuquerque City Council, their emails are on this page:
http://www.cabq.gov/...
The councilors who voted for the measure are Dan Lewis, Ken Sanchez, Brad Winter, Janice Arnold-Jones, and Don Harris.
Please sign the petition! And please pass this along to New Mexico women and men who care.
2:34 PM PT: Rec List? Thanks! I don't think I've ever been here before - it's shiny.