FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2013
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Renowned workers’ rights activist, Latina leader, and native New Mexican, Dolores Huerta has taken to the airwaves to oppose the City of Albuquerque’s Nov. 19 ballot measure that, if passed, would criminalize later abortion services in the city, and effectively, throughout New Mexico. The ad, sponsored by NARAL Pro-Choice America, Advocates for Youth, Young Women United, and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, will run in English and Spanish on six different radio stations from now until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 19, when voters decide on the measure.
The anti-choice measure is being pushed aggressively by groups who purposely relocated to New Mexico solely to advocate for the new restriction. The ban, similar to measures pushed in a number of other states, is a blanket ban on abortion after 20 weeks – and may even ban abortion if a woman’s health is in danger or in the case of a fetal anomaly. In the ad Dolores Huerta, says:
“I am Dolores Huerta, New Mexican, and Catholic mother of eleven. Women are the only ones who should make decisions about their bodies. We cannot allow others to interfere in our lives. Decisions about abortion belong with a woman, her family, and her doctor. I have fought for working people all of my life. Join me and defend the rights, dignity and the respect of all women and families.”
Voting “against” the measure preserves current law that respects a woman’s right to make this personal decision without the government interfering. Every pregnancy is different and women and their doctors need continued access to all safe and legal options.
“Anti-choice activists in New Mexico and around the country have tried everything in their power to roll back this constitutional right, and we will keep fighting against their efforts,” said NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue. “This measure will put politics into the personal, complex, health care decisions that belong to New Mexican women and their doctors. That is why we are focused on supporting the local efforts of our partners in Albuquerque to ensure women and families vote against this harmful ballot measure on Nov. 19.”
A recent poll of Latino/a registered voters by the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health showed that 74 percent of participants agreed that women have the right to make these personal and private decisions without politicians interfering.
“National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is committed to ensure that all Latinas have the full range of reproductive-health care, including abortion services, regardless of their zip code,” said Jessica González-Rojas, executive director of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. “Our polling shows that our community supports the ability of Latinas to make personal, private decisions about abortion without the interference of politicians. We fully support the leadership and expertise of our local reproductive-justice partners in Albuquerque and stand in solidarity as they fight for health, justice and respect for Albuquerque women.”
The radio ad targets Latino voters and will reach over 100,000 people an average of 7.6 times.
“We know there is strong support among young Latinos for abortion access, their votes matter and we need turn up the volume on this message to reach them,” said Debra Hauser, president of Advocates for Youth. “Advocates is proud to invest in the leadership of women of color and young women as they fight in their communities to ensure their right to safe, legal abortion care.”
The campaign against the ballot measure has been led by Albuquerque residents to protect access to safe, legal abortion for New Mexican women.
“We are proud to be working alongside our national partners to ensure the voices of women of color are included in our efforts to keep complex decisions about abortion in the hands of women and families,” said Tannia Esparza, executive director of Young Women United. “As an Albuquerque-based community organizing project by and for women of color, Young Women United is proud of the leadership we have carried over the last decade to defeat attacks on reproductive-health care. Our work in the Respect ABQ Women campaign has centered on the lived experiences of Latino/as and other communities of color as part of a long-term vision of reproductive justice for all people.”
Sponsored by Respect ABQ Women/Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains/ACLU-NM Foundation. NARAL Pro-Choice America, 1156 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”
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