Dr. Elaine Sena Cortez is a professor, business owner/consultant, wife, patriot, and Christian, and serves as New Mexico State Representative Elect for District 62.

Progressive Democrats Are One Trick Ponies

With less than two months before the November election, many New Mexican voters are beginning to realize our state’s most urgent problems never seem to get fixed. Our governor and the progressive majorities in the State Legislature don’t appear to be interested in offering workable solutions at a time when our state is facing the worst violent crime rate in the country, our public schools are consistently ranked last for student success, the crisis along our southern border has created a fentanyl epidemic which is killing too many New Mexicans, generational poverty threatens the long-term future of our families, and abused and neglected children are failing to receive the protection they deserve.

Progressive Democrats are wholly responsible for these problems since they have controlled the legislature and the governor’s office for the last six years, yet they want to talk about one issue — Abortion.

Of course, these progressives rarely say the word “abortion,” preferring to use euphemisms such as “reproductive rights” and “women’s health care” to soft-pedal the harsh reality that their entire agenda rests on ending the existence of an unborn child. Having no qualms about permitting abortions up until the moment of birth in New Mexico, Progressive Democrats are conveniently never heard admitting that is their position.

There is something fundamentally wrong when the party charged with leading our state refuses to address the critical issues facing our state but has no reluctance to base their quest for political power almost solely on the backs of the unborn.

For far too long, Republican candidates have stayed silent regarding abortion and have hesitated to engage their progressive opponents on this sensitive issue. In turn, this silence has permitted progressives to define Republicans as being anti-women or not caring about women’s healthcare issues. Of course, these political accusations are false and based on fear mongering and slander, as many Republican candidates are women themselves and are personally invested in women’s healthcare.

Unfortunately, this false narrative perpetuated by progressives has allowed them to take total control of the state and enact a devastating agenda that has made our state unrecognizable.

Abortion is an issue that requires real conversation: Should there be restrictions around viability? Should parents be notified if their minor child has an abortion? Should women be given all the information about available resources when making tough pregnancy-related decisions? Should taxpayers have to pay for something they morally disagree with? Should New Mexico taxpayers be footing the bill for out-of-state residents to get free abortions here?

The repeal of Roe v. Wade returned these and other policy questions to the states. Progressive Democrat lawmakers, however, have refused to consider any of these important questions. As a result, they have made New Mexico the abortion capital of the U.S.

Progressive Democrats have become one trick political ponies, touting abortion every chance they get, so they don’t have to address the other crises in our state. If NM voters continue to choose progressive candidates this November, then they have no excuse to complain about our failing schools, our neighborhoods becoming crime battlegrounds, our children suffering abuse and neglect, our crumbling healthcare system, and opportunities for our kids and grandkids disappearing. They will have proven that their All-Abortion-All-The-Time strategy is all that’s needed to maintain their failed leadership.

Our state cannot afford a Democrat controlled legislature that continues turning a blind eye to every issue except abortion.

It is time to have real discussions about the issues facing our state, all of them.