20-Week Abortion Ban May Be Languishing in U.S. Senate, but Anti-Choice Advocates Pursue Same Measure Locally Via Albuquerque Ballot Initiative

The Washington Post: Albuquerque’s considering the abortion ban languishing in the Senate, by Niraj Chokshi:

In a week and a day, voters in Albuquerque, N.M., may succeed where Congress is stalled: They could ban abortions at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Last week, a measure to ban the practice was introduced in the Senate after a similar bill passed the House in June. But even the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), doesn’t expect it to garner enough votes to pass. Its fate may be at best uncertain and at worst doomed federally, but voters in Albuquerque will have a chance to weigh in on what could be the nation’s first such ban at the city level next Tuesday. And proponents see it as part of a new strategy that involves pushing abortion restrictions at the local — rather than state or federal — level. . . .