New Mexico State Rep. Cathrynn Brown recently introduced the bill HB 206, which would require rape victims to carry their pregnancies to term during rape trials or face charges of "tampering with evidence."

The bill states, "Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime."



If a woman had an abortion after being raped, she and her doctor would be charged with a felony punishable by up to three years in state prison, reports ThinkProgress.org.

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Brown, who is a Republican, said today in a statement: "New Mexico needs to strengthen its laws to deter sex offenders. By adding this law in New Mexico, we can help to protect women across our state."

However, Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico, said in a statement that the bill is "blatantly unconstitutional."

Davis said: "The bill turns victims of rape and incest into felons and forces them to become incubators of evidence for the state. According to Republican philosophy, victims who are ‘legitimately raped’ will now have to carry the fetus to term in order to prove their case."

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Because New Mexico's House and Senate are controlled by Democrats, Brown's bill is unlikely to pass.

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