Opinion

A walk of faith is not a ‘super spreader,’ despite what the Archdiocese of Santa Fe says

This year, just as last year, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe bowed down to calls from the far-left demanding the cancellation of everything from church service to outdoor walks of faith, meant to be a pilgrimage–a sacrifice–to honor Jesus Christ’s ultimate payment for our sins on the Cross. Of course, they demanded these cancellations due to “COVID-19.”

In typical fashion, per usual with the Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which unfortunately remains mostly limp and actionless in the face of true struggle (such as fights against abortion and assisted suicide), decided to cancel the annual pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó–“no doubt the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United States,” described as the “Lourdes of America.”

“Since the pandemic is still with us and we do not want to invite the spread of the Coronavirus via super spreader event like a pilgrimage with tens of thousands of people, the El Santuario de Chimayó will be closed on Good Friday,” the church wrote on its Facebook page. “We are sorry that it has to be this way, but we’re hoping next year will allow for a return to the beloved pilgrimage as in the past.”

Not only did the church forbid visiting the sacred site itself, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe “strongly discouraged” people from even walking to El Santuario de Chimayó and a similar trek to Tome Hill Park in Los Lunas

El Santuario de Chimayó is a venerable place of worship for centuries, with incredible stories of faith bringing forth healing. According to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, “El Santuario has been a place of worship from the beginning – a place to pray, to thank, to ask, to meditate and to experience peace of mind as well as of body.” 

Here is an excerpt from the history of the church, per the Archdiocese:

One tradition recalls that during Holy Week on the night of Good Friday, Don Bernardo Abeyta, who was a member in good standing of the Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jes6s el Nazareno (Penitentes) was performing the customary penances of the Society around the hills of El Potrero. Suddenly he saw a light springing from one of the slopes of the hills near the Santa Cruz River. Don Bernardo went to the spot and noticed that the shining light was coming from the ground. He started to dig with his bare hands, and there he found a Crucifix. He left it there and called the neighbors to come and venerate the precious finding. A group of men was sent to notify the priest, Fr. Sebastian Alvarez at Santa Cruz.

Upon hearing the extraordinary news, the priest and people set out for Chimayo. When they arrived at the place where the Crucifix was, Fr. Sebastian picked it up and carried it in a joyful procession back to the church. Once in the church, the Crucifix was placed in the niche of the main altar. The next morning, the Crucifix was gone, only to be found in its original location. A second procession was organized and the Crucifix was returned to Santa Cruz, but once again it disappeared, The same thing happened a third time. By then, everyone understood that El Sefior de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayo, and so a small chapel was built.

So, if such spiritual healing and miracles have taken place here at El Santuario de Chimayó, then why now cower in fear, in a time when such miraculous healing and prayer by the Faithful are needed now more than ever? Especially pilgrimages which are done OUTSIDE IN THE FRESH AIR--the absolute safest place to be during a pandemic.

Despite the church being shuttered by the Archdiocese, New Mexicans searching for healing made and are making the journey to El Santuario De Chimayó anyway, many searching for healing. 

Danielle Lovato, who was interviewed with her husband by the Santa Fe New Mexican says, “I decided that in order for me to get through this journey in this chapter in my life that I need to get my faith as strong as it can be.” She continued, “And I did one treatment, and before that one treatment we walked from the exact same place — and my treatment went well.” 

“Lovato and her husband walked again Wednesday, the day before her second chemotherapy appointment. She said after a four-hour treatment Thursday she felt great and was able to play with her son, crediting it to her strong relationship with God,” reports the New Mexican

“I believe it’s the perfect time for people to reflect on God and how great [He] is,” said Lovato. “This pandemic was very scary, and here we are a year later and it’s all thanks be to God.”

Others from across New Mexico and the world have refused to shut down and be scared along with the so-called “leadership” of the Catholic Church in New Mexico. Despite what Archbishop Charles Wester or any other such man of the cloth may use to justify the hollow stance, the Faithful will keep on walking in their faith and in their actions to honor Jesus Christ, the savior of the world this Easter.

A walk of faith is not a ‘super spreader,’ despite what the Archdiocese of Santa Fe says Read More »

NM oil producer speaks out against GOP CD-1 candidate who voted for MLG’s ‘Green New Deal’

The following letter was sent from oil and gas producer Roy Ables to the New Mexico Republican State Central Committee members ahead of Saturday’s vote on the GOP nominee for the First Congressional District to replace Democrat former Rep. Deb Haaland:

My name is Ray Ables. I own and operate a New Mexico oil and gas business called Pace Oil Field Services.

I’m writing to you today because one of the Republican candidates for the 1st District, Senator Mark Moores, voted for the New Mexico Green New Deal, also known as the “Energy Transition Act.”

I don’t believe our party should nominate a candidate who supports legislation like this that puts our New Mexico oil and gas industry at risk.

Let me explain the damage caused to our industry by this legislation that was pushed so hard by Michelle Lujan Grisham and the radical left. Oil and gas provides 40% of our state’s budget, thousands of jobs, and of course, affordable energy for our families. But the Energy Transition Act requires that New Mexico fully transition AWAY from oil and gas. 

As Daniel Turner, Executive Director of Power the Future, wrote for Fox News: “this destructive law is essentially a hidden carbon tax and will threaten the jobs of thousands of energy workers, raise utility rates, cut state revenue, and make green energy companies rich at the taxpayers’ expense.” You can read Turner’s full op-ed here: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/daniel-turner-stealth-version-of-aoc-green-new-deal-now-the-law-in-new-mexico-voters-be-damned.

It’s no secret that New Mexico’s economy is one of the worst in the nation. And destroying oil and gas – the industry that keeps our state afloat – in the name of promoting “green energy,” is the worst possible policy decision. The fact that Senator Moores voted for Gov. Lujan Grisham’s New Mexico Green New Deal should be disqualifying in this race.

We need to send someone to DC who will fight for New Mexico jobs and stand up to the radical Democrats who will push Green New Deal legislation that will negatively impact New Mexico. If this vote is any indication, Mark Moores will be no different than Deb Haaland.

Thank you for your time, and for the sake of New Mexico’s oil and gas workers and the future of our state, I ask you to take this information into consideration ahead of your vote on Saturday. 

Respectfully,

Ray Ables

Opinions expressed by Piñon Post contributors do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the publication or its editorial staff. Submit an op-ed to the Piñon Post at news@pinonpost.com.

NM oil producer speaks out against GOP CD-1 candidate who voted for MLG’s ‘Green New Deal’ Read More »

Red to green: No matter what ‘color’ your county is, never forget MLG locked you down

On Wednesday, many restaurants, shops, and other small businesses celebrated the shift from “red” (meaning nearly completely locked down) counties to less harsh yellow, turquoise, and green reopening statuses. With Wednesday’s announcement, not a single new Mexico county is in the “red.”

However, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (MLG) should not be thanked for these counties’ reopening plans. After all, MLG is the one who locked down the state to the harshest criteria in the nation throughout the pandemic, with sporadic reopening and then reclosing plans, which led to thousands of New Mexico small businesses going under–for good.

Lujan Grisham kept on changing the goalposts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, repeatedly refusing to ease restrictions despite her supposed plan.

During the heat of the pandemic, Lujan Grisham shuttered businesses and demanded citizens comply with her COVID-19 restrictions. However, once Black Lives Matter and Antifa terrorists began marching in the streets and burning down businesses, she applauded them despite their refusal to obey her restrictions on mass gatherings, with many maskless protesters. 

Instead of reprimanding these people, she applauded their efforts, which undoubtedly helped spread COVID-19 to more New Mexicans. “This is a violation of the mass gatherings, no doubt, but we’re just going to take a leap of faith in protecting protesters who have no other way, quite frankly. Right? There’s no other way to be seen, to be heard, to be respected, and to be clear about your message,” she said.

Before Lujan Grisham’s color-coded lockdown, New Mexicans were subjected to arbitrary “benchmarks,” which she and advisor Dr. David Scrase repeatedly changed on a dime. Then, citizens were subjected to Lujan Grisham’s red, yellow, and green system. Then, she changed her three-color system to a four-color system, adding “turquoise.” 

Now, with New Mexico’s neighboring states reopening, Scrace says, “I get the natural tendency to wonder why we can’t be like them.” However, New Mexico remains shuttered, even at the “green” and “turquoise” levels, New Mexicans are mandated to wear masks, observe “social distancing,” and avoid mass gatherings. 

The Governor is trying to normalize strict lockdowns as the norm in New Mexico. Even at the green level, our state is bleeding cash and losing people to other states where the government is not hostile to businesses merely trying to make ends meet.  

Never forget that Michelle Lujan Grisham locked New Mexico down and crippled countless small businesses in the process. Her hypocritical “leadership” through COVID-19 has caused mass confusion, is responsible for thousands of deaths (including suicides) and is the single person to blame for our state’s bleak economic outlook. Do I even have to mention her jewelry buying spree at a shuttered business and her $200 per pound Wagyu steak dinners on the backs of the taxpayers through the “discretionary” slush fund?

Never forget what she did to you during COVID-19, and if you still are thinking about voting for her, then you are as lost as she is. 

Red to green: No matter what ‘color’ your county is, never forget MLG locked you down Read More »

Gov. MLG’s dreams of New Mexico getting hooked on drug money

On Monday. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent out a tweet reaffirming her plan to transform New Mexico’s economy from a fuel and energy-based economy with our booming oil, gas, and coal sectors to heavily reliant on drug money from overtaxed marijuana. 

The Governor failed to ram through her proposed legal weed bill in the 2021 Legislative Session, so in a desperate move to “not take no for an answer,” she will force the Legislature to reconvene in a “special session” to pass recreational weed legislation.

“I believe legalization of adult-use cannabis will be one of the largest job-creation programs in New Mexico history, driving entrepreneurial opportunities statewide for decades to come. It’s clear that New Mexicans are ready – let’s get it done,” the Governor wrote on Twitter. 

It is clear that even the most “progressive” far-left plan for the Governor to ram through legalized pot wouldn’t even make the tiniest dent in New Mexico’s revenues with the current budget sitting at a bloated $7.4 billion — yes, BILLION.

According to that leftist legal recreational pot plan’s fiscal impact report, New Mexico would take in at most $15.1 million in revenue after years of losses to implement the program. 

For context, the MOST such a revenue plan would generate in revenue wold be 0.204% of the needed funds to plug the gaping hole in Gov. Lujan Grisham’s budget. 

The oil and gas industry, in contrast, generated $2.8 billion directly to the state general fund in fiscal year 2020. That is approximately 37% of the state’s budget coming from oil and gas.

In states that have already legalized adult-use marijuana, the largest of them being California, the state only brought in a total of $1.5 billion since 2018. The state’s budget is approximately $202 billion.

Gov. Lujan Grisham’s push for weed comes as she and her allies in the Democrat-dominated Legislature have pushed the most aggressive anti-energy policies aimed at driving the oil and gas industry out of the state in its entirety. 

Weed, no matter if it passes or not, won’t make the slightest difference in the state’s budget, but Gov. Lujan Grisham sure wants to make New Mexico dependent on drug money–either by 20% taxed dope through her plan–or on the streets through contraband merchants of the product.

READ NEXT: Deep-pocketed marijuana lobby banking on Legislature’s proposals to legalize weed

Gov. MLG’s dreams of New Mexico getting hooked on drug money Read More »

Gov. MLG wants New Mexicans to foot the bill for Democrats’ political ineptitude

On Saturday, the last day of the 2021 Legislative Session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she will be calling a special session after the Legislature (dominated heavily by Democrats in both chambers) failed to epic proportions in their empty promises of ramming through a recreational pot bill.

But despite the lopsided partisan composition in the Legislature and their ability to force through other crazy bills such as abortion up-to-birth and the “Civil Rights Act,” which will line Speaker Brian Egolf’s (D-Santa Fe) pockets with civil litigation going to his law firm on the backs of local communities, Democrats fell short on legalizing recreational marijuana.

Democrats had sixty days to get the job done with the help of defecting “Republicans” such as Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Chaves, Eddy, and Otero), who is a prominent proponent of legalizing weed. He even sponsored a proposal of his own to do it. 

The Democrats can only characterize the Governor calling a special session for her extreme agenda as one thing: a massive failure on their part to deliver. Despite suspending rules in both chambers on the last two weeks of the session, only allowing the public to testify on bills in 10-15 minute increments for both sides, and the lopsided majorities of Democrats to Republicans in committees and in the chambers themselves, Democrats failed, not just on pot, but on many other issues.

Democrats failed to ram through all gun-grabbing bills, couldn’t pass their 20+ cent per gallon gas tax on the poor, were unable to advance their anti-police tort claims act, didn’t pass their overhaul of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, failed at implementing “critical race theory” doctrine into state agencies, among so many other proposals. 

But bills that actively intend to create a culture of death, including assisted suicide via lethal drugs and abortion up-to-birth, were streamlined. 

For those who claim Democrats are champions for weed legalization, they failed year after year after year while they were in the majority and prioritized murdering babies and killing sick people over weed bills that they professed to be “revenue-generating” miracles for the state budget. 

Now, these same Democrats will force New Mexicans to foot the bill for a special session costing upwards of $50,000 per day because Democrats couldn’t even finish the job they claimed they cared so much about. Their failure is on their hands and their hands alone. New Mexicans should not be forced to fund this frivolous and self-serving special session. 

Remember: Democrats have been in power for most of 80 years in this state. They had chance after chance to do pretty much whatever they wanted with their oversized majorities for decades. 

Despite this year’s “Zoom” legislature where the public was barred from the People’s House with a chain-link fence and National Guardsmen fortifying the premises, Democrats still failed. Their failure is representative of their do-nothing, useless sad excuse for a party as a whole. 

I hope Republicans in the House and Senate give the Democrats holy hell in this special session and leave nothing off the table to resist Gov. Lujan Grisham and the radical Democrats’ pagan agenda. We must beat these people at their own game.

READ NEXT: Deep-pocketed marijuana lobby banking on Legislature’s proposals to legalize weed

Gov. MLG wants New Mexicans to foot the bill for Democrats’ political ineptitude Read More »

Science-denying NM teachers union refusing to follow updated CDC guidelines

On Friday, the New Mexico “American Federation of Teachers” of AFT sent out a statement denying the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) updated guidelines announcing that it had shortened its science-based recommended social distance from six feet to three feet, opening the doors for more students to get back to school.

But the anti-science, anti-student teachers union, AFT, couldn’t handle the news from the CDC, which means a green light for children to get back to school after nearly a year of lockdown and a loss of time in the classroom. The CDC is currently headed by Rochelle Walensky, a Joe Biden appointee.

The lockdown has prompted many children into depression, leading the suicide rate among adolescents to skyroket by 88% in New Mexico. In July, it was reported that New Mexico had the highest rate of suicide over every state in the union. We now have the fourth-highest unemployment rate.

However, the callous and self-serving teachers unions, who collectively throughout the country made a whopping $122 billion off of the last round of pork-filled “COVID-19 relief,” don’t want their teachers (who are forced to pay union dues in New Mexico) to go back to teaching, no matter how many children kill themselves or how many teachers leave the profession.

AFT New Mexico sent out the following statement denying the CDC’s science as “lacking” in the “totality” of the “safety strategy,” whatever that means. The union also denid the efficacy of the vaccine, claiming it is “not a silver bullet.” : 

“We, like all New Mexicans, want to see students and educators return to classrooms as soon as possible, but today’s physical distancing guideline revisions by the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) should give all students, parents, and educators pause.

“While positive progress has been made regarding access and administration of vaccines for educational staff, a vaccine alone is not a silver bullet for making our places of learning safe. Vaccines are only one piece, among many, of the strategy for safely re-entering our buildings and classrooms. 

We also question abandoning the pandemic’s most enduring safety strategy, namely ensuring a 6-foot distance between individuals, as rapid changes in health and safety guidance not only cause confusion but can undermine public trust in science-based guidance. We, like many education professionals and organizations across the country, urge the CDC to continue their research and understanding of the impact of reduced distancing by expanding their research to broader, more representative sampling of our communities. Additionally, we hope future CDC guidance decisions will more fully consider a totality of other factors which impact safety in schools, including the extent of aerosol spread of COVID-19 through substandard or outdated ventilation. 

You read that right–the AFT teachers union is actually questioning the Centers for Disease Control so it can hold hostage full reopening of schools. Parents in New Mexico are sure not likely to be pleased with this news, as children have been waiting over a year to get back to school and make up for lost time.

Science-denying NM teachers union refusing to follow updated CDC guidelines Read More »

FULL LIST: These sitting ‘GOP’ legislators voted for MLG’s ‘mini’ Green New Deal

In March 2019, just a little over two years ago, during one of New Mexico’s most destructive legislative sessions to date, Republican New Mexicans were slapped in the face by people they elected and thought they could trust to help stop radical anti-energy bills. 

But unfortunately, thanks to the help of extremely moderate “Republicans” in the New Mexico House and Senate, wolves in sheeps’ clothing came out swinging to aid the failing Michelle Lujan Grisham Administration in pushing forward the single most destructive anti-energy proposal to ever become law in New Mexico — the “Energy Transition Act,” also known as MLG’s “mini” Green New Deal. 

The law forces through stringent environmental mandates, including 50% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2050. It has already skyrocketed energy costs for New Mexicans, and even the bill’s biggest proponents say it needs to be heavily amended as to not completely wreck the state.

The radical environmental bill has been praised by the farthest-left extremists around, including newly confirmed Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, nominated by Joe Biden.

Now, as New Mexico fights for its political survival against other extreme environmental bills, such as S.B. 11, the gas tax on the poor, the quiet and weak “moderate” Republicans that slither around the roundhouse keep their lips zipped shut and hide as more outspoken members, who are in the extreme minority, fight alone against these harmful proposals.

So, who were these “Republicans” who helped the Governor ram through her destructive, corrosive, and anti-New Mexico “green” agenda? Here is a full list of the members who are still in power:

House of Representatives: 

Rep. Kelly Fajardo (R-Valencia) 

Office 986-4221, room 202A
kelly.fajardo@nmlegis.gov

Rep. Bill Rehm (R-Bernalillo)

Box 14768, Albuquerque, NM 87191
Office 986-4214, room 201B
bill.rehm@nmlegis.gov

See the full vote in the House of Representatives here.

New Mexico Senate:

GOP Leader Sen. Greg Baca (R-Bernalillo & Valencia)

P.O. Box 346, Belen, NM 87002
Office , room 415I
(505) 385-7303(w) greg.baca@nmlegis.gov

Sen. Ron Griggs (R-Doña Ana, Eddy and Otero) 

Office, Room 414A
(575) 439-1331(w) ron.griggs@nmlegis.gov

Caucus Chair Sen. Mark Moores (R-Bernalillo)

P.O. Box 90970, Albuquerque, NM 87199
Office, room 414D
mark.moores@nmlegis.gov

Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Chaves, Eddy, and Otero)

Office, Room 414B
cliff.pirtle@nmlegis.gov

See the full vote in the New Mexico Senate here.

Most of these politicians never were challenged during the Republican primary for their seats. Let us never forget these people helped ram through this destructive anti-energy, anti-jobs legislation, leading to the destruction and further decline of our state.

FULL LIST: These sitting ‘GOP’ legislators voted for MLG’s ‘mini’ Green New Deal Read More »

Deb Haaland makes history: Becomes least qualified person to ever serve in cabinet

On Monday, The U.S. Senate shamefully confirmed Rep. Deb Haaland to head the U.S. Department of the Interior, dealing a crippling blow to the integrity of the country’s public lands, which will now be under the control of the radical anti-energy “Green New Deal”-loving extremist.

You have to give it to the Democrats, though. They did, indeed, make history with her confirmation, making her the least qualified candidate to ever reach a presidential cabinet position, not only with the support of every single one of their members but with four Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) lining up to support her, like sheep to the slaughter.

Despite vast swaths of Alaska under the control of the Department of the Interior and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) calling out Haaland for singling out The Last Frontier, she and spineless RINO Dan Sullivan (R-AK) joined Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Linsey Graham (R-SC) in supporting Haaland. The final vote was 51-40 with nine senators not voting.

To be crystal clear, Haaland has no accomplishments whatsoever to speak of other than being a walking, talking, breathing embodiment of the Peter Principle. The Peter Principle is merely a management concept about competent employees in a low role being promoted into positions for which they are incompetent (Congress and Interior in Haaland’s case).

If you did not watch Haaland’s confirmation hearings in the Senate Energy Committee, you didn’t miss much other than hours of painful lines of questioning demonstrating Haaland’s lack of knowledge of the Department of Interior and a lack of awareness of the department’s resources, which she will now be tasked with overseeing. She also demonstrated the lack of a coherent train of thought, using the sounds “uh” and “um” to fill every other gap while Haaland attempted to form a sentence. This can be demonstrated by the below clip, which is particularly painful to watch:

But then again, we must remember that this nomination comes from an illegitimate non-president whose allies weaponized election fraud to steal the 2020 election. Biden also can barely form a sentence and was likely advised to pick Haaland so he could meet a racist diversity quota in his administration while also claiming a “history-making” nomination.

Haaland tried and failed on multiple occasions to pass the bar after law school, then somehow became the Democrat Party of New Mexico chair, and then ran for Congress in the First Congressional District while hilariously claiming to be “fierce” in the process.

Then once elected, she hid from constituents, and when election time rolled around, she ducked debates for months until she finally was compelled to show to “remote” debates where she stumbled on her words again and again. She consistently lied about multiple issues and could not defend her radical agenda.

During a candidate debate in October, Haaland misled on multiple issues. She claimed she worked in “a bipartisan way” while in Congress, despite voting with socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 95% of the time, she called a leftist Black Lives Matter/Antifa mob committing arson and vandalism in Lafayette Square near the White House “peaceful,” she claimed she did not support Antifa, despite calling them “peaceful protestors,” saying she has never “missed a vote,” despite missing several, and falsely claiming President Trump called COVID-19 a “Democrat hoax,” which liberal fact-checkers have even admitted is incorrect. 

Now, Haaland, the least accomplished and most embarrassing cabinet pick of any administration in history will go on to lead the Department of the Interior, overseeing 480 million acres of public land, 700 million acres of subsurface minerals, and 1.7 billion acres of the outer continental shelf. She also has pledged to ban fracking, which will cripple states like New Mexico who rely heavily on the critical industry. We can only hope her incompetence keeps her from getting anything done because the less she does, the easier people, especially those who rely on these public lands, can sleep at night. 

Deb Haaland makes history: Becomes least qualified person to ever serve in cabinet Read More »

Assisted suicide via lethal drugs bill one step away from becoming law after passing Senate

In a sad turn of events in New Mexico, the state Senate approved one of the most extreme assisted suicide via lethal drugs bills to the House of Representatives to concur with the amendments, then to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her signature. The Governor promised to sign the radical anti-life bill that will jeopardize those living with terminal conditions.

The bill passed despite bipartisan opposition to the radical measure, with a final vote of 24-17. Democrats, Pete Campos of Las Vegas, George Muñoz of Gallup, and Benny Shendo Jr. of Jemez Pueblo joined Republicans in voting against the measure. Despite invoking his Catholic faith and saying he attended mass at the Cathedral, Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana) voted with anti-life Democrats to approve the bill.

During debate. Sen. Gregg Schmedes (R-Tijeras) said, “My concern is that when we legalize this practice, as we’ve seen in other states, the overall suicide rate goes up.” He added, “When I use the word ‘suicide,’ I don’t use it flippantly. Suicide’s the intentional taking of your life.”

The bill, which is opposed by multiple disability rights groups, the Navajo Nation, and many patients living with terminal conditions, seeks to further normalize a culture of death in New Mexico by letting medical professionals prescribe lethal drugs to patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness that could take their lives anytime up to six months.

The bill would legalize doctors to prescribe a “cocktail” of lethal drugs to patients suffering from terminal illnesses, which will save insurance companies money. 

During the bill’s hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sunday, the “expert witnesses,” law professor Robert Schwartz and physician Steven Kanig could not even list the drugs that would be prescribed to end an individual’s life and admitted that there is no set “cocktail” that is used. Schwartz claimed the concoction of harmful drugs “has been refined over the years” and that “these drugs do change.”

H.B. 47, which devalues human life and dangerously violates ethical codes in medicine, is sponsored by anti-life extremist Rep. Deborah Armstrong (D-Bernalillo) and a few other partisan Democrats in the Legislature. 

Gov. Lujan Grisham’s press secretary Nora Sackett said in a statement, “The governor has been a lifelong advocate for seniors and their independence, as well as for the importance of dignity and respect in making choices about one’s own health and treatment.” 

The American Medical Association (AMA) itself decries assisted suicide as an affront to the practice of medicine. According to the American Medical Association’s Code of Ethics Medical Opinion 5.7

“Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.” 

“Instead of engaging in assisted suicide, physicians must aggressively respond to the needs of patients at the end of life. Physicians:

Should not abandon a patient once it is determined that cure is impossible.

Must respect patient autonomy.

Must provide good communication and emotional support.

Must provide appropriate comfort care and adequate pain control.

In Oregon and California–states that allow assisted suicide–patients have been denied payment for treatments to save their lives, but have been told that less-costly lethal drugs would be covered. Assisted suicide creates a strong economic incentive to deny treatment, which is the antithesis of the above medical ethics mandate from the AMA to provide appropriate comfort care and adequate pain control. 

According to official numbers from Oregon, suicide in the general population in the state is 40% above the national average during the 20 year period that Oregon has had legal assisted suicide. 

In July, it was reported that New Mexico’s suicide rate was the highest in the nation. This bill would further encourage suicide as a socially acceptable alternative to life–a dangerous mindset to place in the minds of people young and old living in our state. By embracing more death and treating people who have a terminal illness as expendable, New Mexico would be dehumanizing individuals and treating them as a burden. 

In Canada, where assisted suicide is legal for the ill and the elderly, they are now trying to force through assisted suicide for people who have disabilities, claiming it will save health care costs (as the country has a socialized medicine system). They are threatening patients, such as a man named Roger Foley, who has cerebellar ataxia, a degenerative neurological condition, giving him only two options: pay $1,800 per day to remain in a hospital after he was mistreated at a government-assigned agency home care center, or kill himself with life-ending drugs. The legalization of H.B. 47 would usher in Canada’s so-called “progressive” policies, ultimately leading to disabled people being included in future bills to kill themselves because they are given impossible choices such as the one Mr. Foley had.

Also, the unsafe life-ending drugs used in the killing of these terminally ill patients would force patients to agree to the below statement that they understand it could take longer than three hours of excruciating pain for them to finally be poisoned to death:

“I understand the full import of this request, and I expect to die if I self-administer the medical aid in dying medication prescribed. I further understand that although most deaths occur within three hours, my death may take longer.” 

As Charlie Camosy, a bioethics professor in the theology department of Fordham University in New York said, “A medical system that kills is no longer recognizable as healing and caring.”

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Deb Armstrong (D-Bernalillo) gleefully rejoiced the final Senate passage of the anti-life bill, writing on Twitter, “This is a tremendous win.”

The bill, which was amended on the Senate floor, now goes to the state House of Representatives. The House already has approved the bill, but will need to approve the amendments. Then it will go to the Governor’s desk for a signature, ushering an even more aggressive culture of death in New Mexico, following the passage of S.B. 10, a bill legalizing abortion up-to-birth and infanticide and stripping all protections for women, medical professionals, and babies in the womb.

Assisted suicide via lethal drugs bill one step away from becoming law after passing Senate Read More »

Clovis library mass shooting survivor: State of New Mexico has turned its back on victims

My name is Jessica Thron, and I am a survivor of the mass shooting that took place at Clovis-Carver Public Library. On August 28, 2017, a 16-year-old came into my workplace with a backpack containing two handguns and multiple magazines. He was angry with the world for being suspended from school and decided people needed to pay — with their lives. He overslept that day, so he didn’t get to exact his revenge at the high school like he originally intended. He settled on the local public library.

I suppose we were all soft targets: women, children, elderly, etc. He gave us no warning. Within six seconds, he unloaded 14 gunshots killing two people (very close friends of mine, Wanda and Krissie), injuring four (myself and a 10-year-old boy included), and traumatized countless others. He was eventually sentenced as an adult to two life sentences plus 40 years served concurrently with good time. Meaning, at the time of sentencing, he will be eligible for parole in 2051.

I remember thinking how shameful it was that a murderer of two wonderful women would only be required to give a little over 30 years of his life in exchange for the beautiful lives he callously took. Little did I know of the legislators in this state who would like to see juvenile murderers and rapists serve even less time.

New Mexico Senate Bill 247 (S.B. 247) will soon be heard before the House. If this bill is passed and made law, it will greatly impact victims who have suffered horrendous crimes as well as family members who have lost loved ones at the hands of juvenile offenders. SB247 mandates that criminals who committed crimes as juveniles and were sentenced as adults will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years. If denied parole, they will be allowed to go before the parole board every 5 years until they are released.

The nature of this proposed bill will take no account whatsoever of the severity of the offender’s crime. The parole board can consider it, but the law will require the murderer to be given a parole hearing. If passed, Nathaniel Jouett who shot and injured me along with three others and killed two women will possibly be released in a mere 11 ½ years. How is that justice? I remember when Nathaniel was sentenced thinking how I would be in my 60s when he would be eligible for parole. As much as I disagreed with the length of his sentence, I would have around 33 years to heal before facing him again. But, no… for some reason, certain legislators think it’s more important that these criminals who committed heinous acts deserve a life outside of prison as soon as possible.

They tout that these sentences are considered excessively long for children, even 15 years. Senator Sedillo Lopez (D-Bernalillo), the bill’s sponsor, argues that if a 15-year-old “child” has to serve 15 years until released, that sentence is over half of the individual’s life. She needs to understand that the average lifespan in the United States is 78.54 years. If a juvenile murderer lives to be that age, he/she will have only spent 19% of their life in prison, not half of their life… not even a quarter. Are the two lives of my murdered friends, who had many more years to live, that invaluable?

Moreover, S.B. 247 has flown through the committees with little discussion surrounding it regardless of its significant impact on society. I have been silenced and told that I can just put my head in the sand concerning the aftereffects of this bill if passed, thanks to Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo). Victims have not even been consulted in reference to this bill, although the sponsor is saying the opposite. I have witnessed the sponsor of this bill not have her documentation submitted in a timely manner and given allowances. Senator Ortiz y Pino told us we would have an opportunity to speak on the House floor, which was untrue. Elected legislators are put in place by the people to represent the people, but we are not being represented. In fact, I am being made to feel that I am the one who has done something wrong.  

I have lived and survived a trauma that no person should ever have to endure. I braved dark days after the shooting which included surgery, the funerals of my murdered friends, PTSD, and other obstacles. Finally, I was at a manageable place with my trauma. But now I feel as if the State of New Mexico, a place I have called home my whole life, has turned its back on me and other victims. My thoughts and concerns have been completely discarded by the legislature these past few weeks. This is not about vengeance. We are asking for time. We are asking to be heard. Please help us make New Mexico communities aware of what certain legislators are trying to do behind their backs. We deserve more from our elected officials.

Clovis library mass shooting survivor: State of New Mexico has turned its back on victims Read More »

Scroll to Top