Christian group tries to force 20-week abortion ban on to Albuquerque ballot

An anti-choice group that calls itself Voices for Family Values claims to have raised enough signatures via petition to have a ban on all abortions after 20 weeks placed on the Albuquerque city ballot this fall. According to KRQE, Voices for Family Values turned in approximately 27,000 signatures to the city clerk on Thursday.

The clerk's office is attempting to verify approximately 13,000 of the signatures.

KRQE reported that even if the ban makes it on to the ballot and is passed by voters, state law will override it.

Rachel Jones and Jenna Jerman of the reproductive health alliance the Guttmacher Institute published a report in the Journal of Women's Health on Thursday that said in 2008, one-third of women in the U.S. must travel more than 25 miles to access abortion services. While two-thirds of U.S. abortion providers offer terminations of pregnancies into the second trimester, the availability of services drops with every additional week of gestation.

Therefore, women seeking procedures later in their pregnancy were more likely to have to travel greater distances to receive care. Since 2008, Republican elected officials have imposed more and more restrictions on abortion services, including mandatory waiting periods, invasive procedures like transvaginal ultrasound exams and other hurdles thrown in the way of women who need care.

KRQE said that Voices for Family Values' ban is identical to the ban passed by Republicans in the Texas state legislature earlier this month.

Watch video about this story, embedded via KRQE, below:

Late-term abortion ban may get a vote

[image of embryo in utero via Shutterstock.com]