Editor,
Please do your civic duty and vote by Tuesday, Nov. 5! Do not think that your vote does not matter! This means you registered voters of New Mexico.
What issues have helped to define the candidates this election year? On Monday, Sept. 23, a front-page headline from the Albuquerque Journal read "Voters Endorse Big Issues." Registered voters were polled statewide on the subject of abortion and 57 percent support a woman's right to choose. For many New Mexicans, the right to choose defines a philosophy about the role of government and civil and women's rights.
To get a historical and comprehensive perspective on this issue, it is important to look at some of the following facts. Abortion was first mentioned in a medical text written in 2737 B.C. and today, women of all ages, races, ethnic and religious backgrounds have abortions for their own private reasons. The reality is that contraception fails, some women are concerned about health, age, rape, finances, or are not ready to become a parent at the time of an unplanned pregnancy. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, 43 percent of American women will have had at least one abortion by age 45.
It is so important to vote pro-choice this election to keep all of the gains that women have made during the last 30 years and to work for even better reproductive health care for every woman in New Mexico. Statistics prove that we have healthier families when women have the opportunity to plan them. Last spring, when the pro-life Justice For All exhibit was on campus, the UNM community responded in favor of choice. Letters poured into the Daily Lobo against the exhibit and NARAL New Mexico gathered 1,129 signatures on a petition that was opposed to the exhibit and then delivered to the dean of students office.
Educate yourself about the candidates this election and vote pro-choice. For more information, call NARAL New Mexico at 243-4443.
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Kimberly Lavender
UNM student
