Pro-life activists tried a new tactic is 2013 by attempting to get an abortion law passed at the local level in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city.
Bud and Tara Shaver, self-described “missionaries” from the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, moved from Kansas to the Land of Enchantment to lead a campaign targeted at gaining passage of a law that would have made Albuquerque the first city in the nation to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, by order of a ballot measure. Albuquerque voters rejected the referendum, 55 percent to 45 percent.
Here are some rather heated quotes from the Albuquerque, New Mexico, abortion law debate:
“Yes, we are radical — radical in our love, in our protecting. We believe it’s our mission to save lives.”
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Grace Lardizabal, pastor at Transformation Ministries, a Christian nondenominational church in Albuquerque, explaining her support for the ballot measure, according to
The New York Times
“The fact that they call themselves missionaries is really offensive. We don’t need outsiders bringing in this kind of disruption.”
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Joan Lamunyon Sanford, director of the New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and leader of a coalition fighting against the referendum, speaking about the Shavers
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“We just tell her, ‘That’s what happens with abortion, when mommies kill their babies. That’s why we have to save them.’”
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Tara Shaver, describing what she and her husband told their 3-year-old daughter when she asked about the images, after receiving a phone call from a woman expressing concern that children were being frightened by images on the “Truth Truck,” a vehicle being driven around Albuquerque covered with photos of dismembered fetuses,
according to MSNBC
“[Targeting cities] is a new strategy. There is more than one way to close an abortion clinic. If you can’t get anything done in a state legislature … you look at what is going on in a city. They say all politics is local. This is a great example of that.”
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Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, told Salon, discussing the strategy the group pursued
“This was a clear counterpunch to the Republicans and right-wingers who came from out of state to push their agenda on us.”
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Sam Bregman, chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party, which campaigned hard against the ballot measure, speaking to Salon after the referendum was defeated
“The voters of Albuquerque showed that they care about women’s health and respect the private medical decisions they make. They saw through this deceptive initiative and defeated a measure that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks, with only the narrowest of exceptions, legislation that would have stripped women of the ability to make the best decision for themselves and their families. … With the defeat of this ballot measure, the voters of Albuquerque affirm that women deserve the best care and deserve privacy and respect.”
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Nancy Stanwood, board chairwoman of Physicians for Reproductive Health, told Salon after the referendum was voted down
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