Posted: 07/29/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rep. Wilson Rejects Common Ground Approach to Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Votes Against Birth Control

Albuquerque, NM – NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico, the state’s leading advocacy organization on reproductive health, issued this statement in response to Rep. Heather Wilson’s vote to block women's access to birth control.
As the House was considering H.R.2601, a bill to reauthorize foreign-aid programs, anti-choice lawmakers tried to remove "contraception" from a list of services that clinics and hospitals overseas would offer to women overseas. The House - and Rep. Heather Wilson - voted to do just that: remove birth control from the list of services.
“We are disappointed that Rep. Heather Wilson voted to block women's access to birth control. In New Mexico, we know that access to birth control is the most effective way to prevent unintended pregnancies in our state. This is a common ground issue on which the vast majority of New Mexicans agree. It is outrageous that, instead of seeking common ground that would improve women's lives, Rep. Heather Wilson voted to take away birth control from some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable women,” stated Giovanna Rossi, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico.
As recently as two years ago, Rep. Wilson voted for family planning; and now she has voted against it. “By voting this way last week, Rep. Wilson joined an anti-choice movement that opposes legal abortion, honest, medically accurate sex education, full counseling, and birth control, ” added Rossi.
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Contact: Giovanna Rossi 505.620.6030