Dear Friends:

Although the 2018 election wrapped up weeks ago, a few extremely close races remained in question—two of which featured candidates we endorsed ahead of the November election. This week, I am proud to report that after all votes were recounted, our endorsed candidates, Dr. Gregg Schmedes and Martin Zamora, were certified as the winners in House Districts 22 and 63.

I am sure you have heard it said that “Every Vote Counts,” and this can certainly be said in Gregg’s and Martin’s races. Ultimately, Gregg won by 142 votes out of more than 16,000 votes cast, and Martin edged out his opponent by just 25 votes!

That’s right—167 votes combined made the difference in these races and it is my privilege to introduce two of our newest State Representatives to you today.

Meet Representative Gregg Schmedes

 Gregg Schmedes is a local physician from Tijeras, New Mexico. Earlier this year, he was appointed by Governor Martinez to fill the unexpired term of former Representative James Smith. Gregg graduated from medical school at Texas Tech University, where he served as president of his class. During college, he organized and led missions’ trips to Mexico, and from 2014-2016, he served in Cameroon as a teacher and surgeon for Samaritan Purse’s World Medical Mission. Gregg previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of New Mexico and is currently the State Director for the American Academy of Medical Ethics. He is married to Kelly, and together, they have five beautiful children.

Meet Representative-Elect Martin Zamora

Martin Zamora is a native of Clovis, New Mexico, and a lifelong resident of House District 63. He has over 20 years of experience in agriculture, has owned several small businesses in the agricultural industry, and previously served on the Wells Fargo Community Advisory Board. Martin currently owns a farm in Clovis and a ranch located in Torrance and Socorro Counties. He has been married to his wife, Debbie, for 38 years, and together, they have two daughters and six beautiful grandchildren.

Congratulations Representative Schmedes and Representative-Elect Zamora! We are thankful for your willingness to serve in public office and we look forward to working with you to defend life, promote strong families, and protect religious freedom in New Mexico.

Together in His Service,

Vince Torres
President and Executive Director

Dear Friends:

Family Policy Alliance of New Mexico is proud to be part of an alliance of state-based organizations working to advance and defend biblical values in government. This week, I was blessed to join my colleagues from the other states in Washington D.C. for a 3-day workshop covering some of the challenges and opportunities we face as family policy councils.

In one of our sessions, we discussed pro-life legislation and litigation, as well as the battle to preserve conscience protection for medical providers. This discussion reminded me of the challenges we face in New Mexico headed into the 2019 Legislative Session, including the effort to repeal one of our state’s only abortion laws. In case you missed it, last week, pro-abortion Democrats in the Legislature announced plans to introduce legislation to repeal an existing abortion statute which, among others things, protects hospitals and providers from recrimination when they refuse to offer or perform abortions on “moral and religious grounds.” And should it pass the House and Senate, Governor-Elect Michelle Lujan-Grisham has already stated: “…that would be something we would sign.”

This announcement came on the heals of a recent article exposing a shocking revelation regarding the transportation of pregnant minors to New Mexico. According to federal court documents, under the Obama administration, pregnant minors in federal custody were transported to New Mexico for abortions to circumvent other states’ parental notification and/or consent requirement laws. In 2014, for example, a minor girl at the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) requested an abortion, but did not want her parents to know she was pregnant. Because she was in a state with parental consent requirements, an ORR field specialist emailed other ORR staff members and explained, “This is why termination of pregnancies are done in New Mexico due to the fact that currently (by law) there is no parental consent requirement.”

With some of the fewest abortion restrictions in the nation, New Mexico is already notorious for its late-term abortion activity. Now we know that the federal government transported minors across state lines, into our state, for the sole purpose of obtaining abortions that would have been illegal in other states.

These realities beg the question—why would we attempt to further loosen our state’s abortion laws and force healthcare providers and faith-based hospital to perform abortions against their conscience?

 The strategy by the abortion industry and its supporters is clear—to remove all restrictions and prevent any attempt to regulate abortions in New Mexico, even if it means violating a person’s First Amendment rights.

Friends—we must stop this, and come January, we will have our opportunity!

I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Vince Torres
President and Executive Director