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Frustrated and scared about the news?

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We are right there with you, feeling the range of emotions from today’s news – anger, frustration, heartbreak, and even though we were bracing ourselves for it, shock. However, today abortion remains LEGAL, and we are fortunate to live in a state where abortion will remain legal, even if Roe is overturned. BUT we must remain VIGILANT. The Southwest Women’s Law Center is committed to fighting for access to safe abortion for future generations. Keeping women and girls in New Mexico safe and healthy is our priority. 

What the SWLC is doing to help the abortion healthcare crisis:

The SWLC is working to expose the Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) industry in New Mexico. You may have driven by a CPC and not even realized it. With names like, “Pregnancy Resource Center”, “Casa de Mariposa”, and “Women’s Pregnancy Options”, it’s easy to mistake them for legitimate clinics. But CPCs are part of a national anti-abortion network collecting sensitive personal and medical information from pregnant people seeking healthcare. 

CPCs are anti-abortion organizations that target low-income people facing unintended pregnancies to prevent them from accessing abortion and contraception. In recent years, the anti-abortion movement has expanded and elevated the role of CPCs within the broader movement, in part by facilitating the coordination of sophisticated data collection and exploitation systems.  

Read more in Designed to Deceive, the report by the SWLC and partners that make up the Alliance: State Advocates for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.

TAKE ACTION

Show up for Abortion Rights TODAY, May 3rd, 5 PM:
Albuquerque: Federal Courthouse, 333 Lomas Blvd. NW
Santa Fe: Federal Courthouse, 106 S. Federal Place
Las Cruces: City Hall/Albert Johnson Park, 700 N Main St.

Support these organizations:

Abortion funds:
Indigenous Women Rising
New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Mariposa Fund

Abortion Healthcare and Policy:
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains 

Work to expose CPCs and Abortion Healthcare Policy:
Support the SWLC and join us in preventing CPCs from receiving state funds or gaining more momentum in New Mexico.

URGENT: CPC Report Re-release

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BREAKING NEWS:

Groundbreaking Report Highlights How CPCs Are Breaching Data Privacy of Pregnant People for the Anti-Abortion Movement   

The Alliance is re-issuing our groundbreaking 2021 report, Designed to Deceive: A Study of the Crisis Pregnancy Center Industry in Nine States, with an urgent warning about the role of the newly expanded crisis pregnancy center (CPC) industry, is poised to play in the post-Roe United States.

Learn More about what our lawmakers and communities can do to protect pregnant people’s health and wellbeing.

The Southwest Women’s Law Center is committed to keeping women and girls in New Mexico safe and healthy. Please make a gift today and help us continue our important work, such as preventing pregnant people from being surveilled. Thank you!

Take Action

The Southwest Women’s Law Center Statement Regarding the 49th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

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January 22, 2022

It was an early morning in December when the U.S. Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) first heard the case involving a Texas law limiting when a person could get an abortion. Roe v Wade was heard first in 1971 and again in 1972, but the Supreme Court finally decided on January 22, 1973. They ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the right to privacy and that a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion falls within that right to privacy.

Today we face a similar position – a law limiting when a pregnant person can get an abortion. Forty-nine years later, it is again left to the Supreme Court to determine if a pregnant person has the right to choose when to have an abortion. In short, the Dobbs v. Jackson case is asking to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The data is clear: Americans support Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to access abortion. In fact, over 79% of Americans support some system of choice for abortion seekers.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, it is projected that roughly 25 million women and girls of reproductive age will lose abortion access entirely in the United States. Safe and legal abortions would virtually be unavailable for one-third of people ages 15–49 who may need it.

These estimates are based on populations in more than 20 states that have a combination of pre-Roe v. Wade bans referred to as “trigger bans” that will automatically make abortion illegal if the Court’s decision overturns Roe v. Wade or interprets it more narrowly.

In New Mexico, we are fortunate the “trigger ban” is no longer in effect. In 2021, the SWLC worked with allies to repeal a pre-Roe bill criminalizing abortion in New Mexico. Repealing the ban means that even if the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision for Dobbs overturns Roe v. Wade, pregnant people in New Mexico will still have access to legal and safe abortions. On this 49th anniversary of the decision of Roe v. Wade, it’s uneasy to think we as a country are in this precarious position. However, we are lucky to have a forward-thinking legislature in New Mexico that supports women’s rights and autonomy.

Savanna and Not Invisible Act

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Albuquerque, NM – September 23, 2020

SWLC commends the U.S. House for passing the Not Invisible Act and the Savanna’s Act, and further encourages President Trump to sign the bills into law

The Southwest Women’s Law Center (SWLC) commends the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Not Invisible Act (S. 982) and Savanna’s Act (S. 227) on September 21, 2020, moving them to either be signed into law or vetoed by President Donald J. Trump.

The SWLC encourages President Trump to sign both bills into law. The bills address missing and murdered Indians on tribal lands. U.S. Congresswomen Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), tribal member of the Laguna Pueblo and Sharice Davids (D-K.S.), tribal member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, are two of the four co-sponsors of the Not Invisible Act. The Not Invisible Act (NIA) establishes a joint commission of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Department of Justice. It would also establish a coordinator within the BIA to combat violence by coordinating efforts, grants, and programs related to the murder of, trafficking of, and missing Native Americans. It will also create a Joint Commission on Reducing Violent Crimes Against Indians, which will include Tribes, States, and Federal officials, the Indian Health Service, urban Indian representatives, survivors and family members of missing and murdered Native Americans, among others.  

The Savanna’s Act, on the other hand, clarifies responsibilities of federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies with respect to responding to cases of missing or murdered Indians. It also calls for increased coordination and communication among the various law enforcement agencies, including medical examiner and coroner offices. The bill aims to address the jurisdictional complexities that Indian Country face. The bill also aims to empower tribal governments with the resources and information necessary to effectively respond to cases of missing and murdered Indians. It also aims to increase the collection of data related to missing and murder Indian men, women, and children regardless of where they reside and the sharing of information.  

Terrelene Massey, Esq. (Navajo), SWLC Executive Director, believes that both the Not Invisible Act and the Savanna Act are needed to better protect Native American women, children, and girls, especially those living on tribal lands. Massey says that the bills “are complementary to one another, they provide a comprehensive approach to address missing and murdered Indians among state, tribal, federal and local levels, and further they take steps to prevent human trafficking.” The bills also aim to coordinate the jurisdictional arms of federal, state, tribal and local authorities so they can better work together rather that creating gaps. The SWLC commends the House and the Senate for passing these bills, and now encourages President Trump to sign them into law.

– END –

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SWLC presents Cocktails & Conversations

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Join Southwest Women’s Law Center staff and Board of Directors for an evening of refreshments, drinks and live music.

We are looking forward to a nice evening with live music, a silent auction, refreshments, and drinks. At the event, we will be updating you on our 2019 activities and will be providing a preview of our 2020 work. You will meet our Board of Directors, our Executive Director, and our new staff. We want to honor you, our supporters, and thank you for standing with us. Upward and onward!

To register for the event, please CLICK HERE.

If you are unable to join us on December 5th but would still like to make an end-of-year contribution, please CLICK HERE.

Equity in the Workplace:
Know Your Rights

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This is a free community event. Please RSVP by calling 505-244-0502 to let us know you’ll attend. Light refreshments will be provided. Join us at Loma Colorado Main Library on November 20 at 6 p.m. to learn about laws that protect you from discrimination in the workplace. We will also discuss workplace-related laws that we are working to pass here in New Mexico, including Pregnant Worker Accommodation Act and Paid Family and Medical Leave Act.