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Pro-life groups to NM Supreme Court: No right to abortion in state constitution

ADF attorneys filed friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of three pro-life organizations in the state

Wednesday, Feb 15, 2023

SANTA FE, N.M. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of three pro-life organizations Tuesday with the New Mexico Supreme Court, urging the court to protect unborn lives by refusing to find a new so-called right to abortion in the state’s constitution.

The three organizations ADF attorneys represent on the brief in State of New Mexico v. Board of County Commissioners for Lea County are New Mexico Family Action Movement, Right to Life Committee of New Mexico, and New Mexico Alliance for Life. As the brief notes, the New Mexico attorney general bypassed ordinary litigation procedures and deployed an exceptional measure, an emergency petition, when he asked the state’s high court to find a new constitutional right to abortion without the benefit of any court’s prior review or full briefing.

“States have the strongest possible interest in protecting the most fundamental of our human rights—the right to life—and it’s clear the New Mexico Constitution doesn’t contain a right to take innocent, unborn life,” said ADF Senior Counsel Denise Harle, director of the ADF Center for Life. “We urge the New Mexico Supreme Court to reject this petition and instead listen to the voices of the strong pro-life advocates in the state working to protect children and mothers.”

  • Pronunciation guide: Harle (HAR’-lee)

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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