Below is a press release from Life Legal Defense Foundation concerning the letter they sent to each member of the Albuquerque City Council at our request. We are grateful for their help.
Tonight, (October 9) a resolution is set to be introduced that would block the upcoming election on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance. This effort would violate provisions of the city charter governing direct legislative initiatives and deny voters the right to cast ballots on this Ordinance.
Public outrage must be voiced concerning this illegal attempt to subvert the legal process. The city charter mandates that this Ordinance, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks in Albuquerque, “must” be put to a vote. Click here to act now!
-OR Staff
Albuquerque City Council Cautioned Against Violating Voter Rights
Life Legal Defense Foundation Steps in to Save Late Term Abortion Vote
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 9, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ — Life Legal Defense Foundation has cautioned the Albuquerque City Council not to violate voter rights. The municipal governing board is considering an attempt to block a vote on the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance,” currently scheduled for November 19, 2013.
In a letter to the Council, Attorney Allison Aranda, Senior Staff Counsel for Life Legal Defense Foundation, addressed Councilor Trudy Jones’ proposed resolution to remove the ordinance from the ballot, which if passed, would ban abortions after a baby is 20 weeks gestational age. Aranda cautioned the Council that adopting Jones’ resolution to block a vote on the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance” violates the rights of the citizens of Albuquerque and is in direct conflict with the Albuquerque City Charter.
Aranda labeled the proposal an “unconstitutional fiat by the city council and a blatant violation of the powers reserved to the people under the Albuquerque Charter.” She added that there is no allowance in state law or municipal code for the Council’s action.
Life Legal Defense Foundation Executive Director Dana Cody believes that this is a clear attempt by a councilwoman to superimpose her personal views about late term abortion onto the citizens of Albuquerque and declared, “The Albuquerque City Council’s attempt to violate the voters’ rights must be stopped. If the Council insists on pursuing this resolution, we will take prompt legal action to protect the constitutional rights of the citizens of Albuquerque.”
Read the Life Legal Defense Foundation’s letter to the Albuquerque City Council here.