Albuquerque, NM (April 20, 2017) Congressman Steve Pearce today issued a statement after the office of New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas stated they are taking further action to look into the legal violations uncovered at the University of New Mexico (UNM):

"The State of New Mexico must stand for the rule of law. I am pleased the New Mexico Attorney General's office is actively reviewing the criminal referrals into the University of New Mexico and Southwestern Women's Options' actions."

Background
The House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives was tasked with discovering information on the medical practices of abortion service providers and procurement practices of organizations who sell baby body part across the nation. Of the 15 criminal referrals, 2 of them were sent to the New Mexico Attorney General's Office.

The first criminal referral was sent to the New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas in June of 2016 after finding the University of New Mexico violated the Spradling Act - prohibiting the exchange of fetal parts produced through an induced abortion. In December 2016, the Panel sent a second criminal referral after discovering more evidence that the Southwestern Women's Options did not acquire proper consent by women prior to using their unborn infant tissue for UNM research.

On April 19, 2017, Congressman Steve Pearce (NM-02) attended a press with Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (NM-07), Chairwoman of the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, New Mexico State Legislators and pro-life leaders in New Mexico on the House Select Panel's findings of ethical and legal violations at UNM and SWWO. The final report released by the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives can be found here.