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King: Proposed Abortion Ban Unenforceable

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King says a proposed ban on late-term abortions in Albuquerque is unenforceable.

In a letter Wednesday to Albuquerque City Council member Trudy Jones, King says the proposal that goes to city voters next month would run afoul of the state and U.S. constitutions.

Jones, who has sought to keep the issue off the ballot, asked King for a formal opinion on the legality of the measure. King says only state officials can seek a formal opinion, but he issued the letter because "voters have the right to know and decide whether they want to bear the protracted expense of litigation over a measure that is unconstitutional and unenforceable."

A special election on the matter was scheduled after anti-abortion groups submitted petitions with the required signatures to put the question to voters.

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