Santa Fe, N.M., Feb 12, 2019 / 15:00 pm
New Mexico's House of Representatives passed a bill that would decriminalize the state's inactive ban on abortion.
The move is seen as a preemptive measure to legalize abortion in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 1973 decision to legalize abortion nationwide.
A 1969 state law in New Mexico made it is a felony for any doctor to perform abortions, except in instances of congenital abnormalities, rape, and a danger to the woman's health.
If Roe vs. Wade were overturned, abortions would be banned completely in the New Mexico. Eight other states have laws that would also ban abortion and four additional states have "trigger laws" that would ban abortion if the Supreme Court decision was overturned.