New Mexico pro-life leaders unite to confront most permissive abortion state, seek to follow Iowa’s example

Pro-life leaders in New Mexico are forming a united coalition to defend life “from conception to natural death,” leaders said at a launch event at the University of New Mexico on Friday.

“Today, New Mexico needs a united spiritual defense, and this coalition is God’s answer to that call,” the pledge states. “We are people of faith committed to the demanding work with forbearance and tenacity, without seeking individual recognition and giving all glory to God.”

Leaders representing 15 organizations convened Friday to sign the Spiritual Defense Coalition Unity Agreement, which pledged to unite across denominations to protect all human life.

The coalition is an immediate response to the construction of a $10 million taxpayer-funded abortion facility in Las Cruces, the state’s second-largest city. The facility will not only perform thousands of abortions but will also serve as a training hub for the Ryan Residency Program, which trains pro-abortion OB-GYNs across the country, according to a press release provided to The Lion.

“What is being built in Las Cruces is a moral crisis, and on April 10 we stand as one – answering what our Lord is asking of us, with the conviction that God’s people, united in purpose and grounded in prayer, can turn this state around,” New Mexico Knights of Columbus State Deputy Anthony Salazar said, calling on religious leaders in the state to join the coalition.

The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, helped convene and facilitate the collaboration for a New Mexico coalition, according to the press release. Coalition leaders said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, has already requested another $10 million to fund a second center in northern New Mexico.

Disturbing trend, rising hope

Abortion in New Mexico is legal throughout pregnancy, and statewide abortions have increased more than 250% since 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade – the case that legalized abortion nationally in 1973. Seven of every 10 abortions in New Mexico are performed on out-of-state residents, according to Guttmacher Institute, which until 2007 was part of Planned Parenthood.

But 15 years ago, the state of Iowa was as supportive of abortion as New Mexico is today, according to Chuck Hurley, vice president and chief counsel at The FAMiLY LEADER and a leader in Iowa’s pro-life coalition, which New Mexico is emulating. For decades, Iowa’s government was aligned in support of abortion, as the governor, state House and Senate, state Supreme Court and attorney general all supported abortion, Hurley told The Lion.

“For over 26 years, we saw no fruit at the Iowa Capitol on life issues – none. But once our leaders took this particular action to stand together, the victories started coming almost immediately,” Hurley said in a statement. “What I see happening in New Mexico reminds me of where we were in Iowa, and I am thrilled to come alongside these leaders.”

Since forming the pro-life coalition in Iowa in 2017, the state has passed a fetal heartbeat law that reduced abortions by nearly 40%, defunded Planned Parenthood in the state and launched the multimillion-dollar More Opportunities for Maternal Support program to boost pregnancy resource centers, according to the release.

Hurley, who also served as an Iowa state representative from 1991 to 1997, encouraged the New Mexico leaders to build their efforts on the foundation of prayer, saying this devotion was the primary factor that transformed Iowa from a state supportive of abortion to one that restricts it.

“My observation, personally and in the church, is that prayer is a neglected, practical discipline,” Hurley told The Lion in an interview.

Additionally, the unified front of pro-life leaders transformed the state, and coalition members are now not merely partners but friends and brothers because of their continual breaking of bread together, Hurley said. The decision to unite requires humility and courage, he said, noting that pro-life organizations across the country often hesitate to join forces.

Iowa’s first pro-life governor took office in 2017, which began the state’s shift on abortion policy. Hurley noted that often the governor has “tremendous cultural influence.” While government change is an essential part of transforming a state on the issue of life, educating the next generation in biblical morality is equally important, said Hurley, who also started an inner-city school with his wife.

“I believe that as or more important than just getting the right person elected for the legal aspect is getting the right people elected for the cultural impact that they make. And to get that done, we have to be educating the next generations on the truths of the Bible,” he told The Lion. “And that’s where my wife and I both see Christian education as really sort of the foundation that all this needs to be built on.”

Hurley encouraged the leaders present at the coalition launch to be steadfast in prayer and give all the glory to God.

“It has been said there’s nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come,” Hurley said at the meeting. “Well, the time has come for a new idea to take root and dominate in New Mexico: to change the narrative, to protect innocent life, to recognize and honor God’s image in every human being.”