By Hannah Grover
An attempt by Edgewood Commissioner Filandro Anaya to repeal an anti-abortion ordinance the Town Commission passed in 2023 failed at the commission’s April 22 meeting.
Anaya made the motion to start the public hearing process to remove the ordinance from the books, but none of the other commissioners seconded the motion. That meant the effort died without much discussion.
The public hearing would have been the first step in a three-step process to repealing the measure.
The ordinance allows members of the public to sue anyone who sends abortion medication through the mail and includes penalties of up to $100,000 per violation.
Anaya said the ordinance is costing the town money even as the town’s budget “seems to be going down frequently.”
“We’ve lost over $5.5 million because of this abortion issue that is still on the record,” he said. “And the Town can’t afford to lose that kind of money when we’re trying to improve the town’s water, roads, sewer. So I think it’s time that we just clean this up and do what’s right and follow the laws of the state of New Mexico and repeal it.”
Edgewood followed in the footsteps of other municipalities, including Clovis and Hobbs when it passed the ordinance, however, it was the first to pass such a measure following House Bill 7. Among other things, HB 7 prohibited local governments from interfering with access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion medications. The law also includes penalties for places like Edgewood that have such ordinances.
In January, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously invalidated such ordinances.