The woman was driving about 3 miles above the speed limit when a police officer pulled her over. It was very bad luck.<\/p>\n
The woman was trying to drive unobtrusively. She had just murdered her lover\u2019s wife and was headed for the state line. I learned this when I covered her murder trial, many years ago.<\/p>\n
The officer, whom the district attorney described as a \u201cbored cop,\u201d was within his rights. Speed limits are set at an arbitrary number for a reason. While officers usually don\u2019t stop drivers going a few miles over the limit, the law is clear. Both the driver and the officer know what\u2019s legal and what\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
In some matters, the only reasonable way to have enforceable laws is to have arbitrary cutoff points.<\/p>\n
In New Mexico, you must be 19 years old to own a handgun and 21 to get a concealed carry handgun license. \u00a0Exceptions are clearly written so, again, it\u2019s easy to know what\u2019s legal and what\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
We have specific numbers for what constitutes drunk driving. In New Mexico, it is illegal to drive with a breath or blood alcohol concentration of . 08 or more if you’re 21 or older, or . 02 if you’re under 21, or . 04 driving a commercial vehicle.<\/p>\n
We also have a subjective test that relies on the observation of the police officer. The Motor Vehicle Division explains, \u201c You can be convicted of DWI even if the breath or blood test is below the legal limit if it is proven that your ability to drive was impaired to the slightest degree by drugs or alcohol.\u201d That is logical, because human bodies vary. It is possible for a driver to be impaired without reaching the official numbers, and public safety requires that we take responsibility for our behavior. But that subjective standard, which relies on observation, is much messier to prove.<\/p>\n
Numerical standards don\u2019t work for everything. Some situations, especially those involving medical judgements, demand that many factors have to be considered. Last year for a short time New Mexico hospitals went into \u201ccrisis mode\u201d because during the Covid crisis they could not meet the medical needs of every patient. Specially appointed medical panels had to be prepared to to make agonizing decisions about who gets care and who doesn\u2019t. An arbitrary rule \u2013 such as limiting access by age — would not have been right because individual circumstances vary so greatly.<\/p>\n
This concept applies to abortion. It\u2019s going to be a factor in our election this November and no doubt in our next legislative session.<\/p>\n
There are two general reasons for abortion, choice and medical urgency.<\/p>\n
Almost all abortions are performed in the first weeks of pregnancy. Statistics from the Lozier Institute say that in New Mexico, in 2018, less than 4 percent were performed after 16 weeks. Of those, 1.6 percent were done after 21 weeks.<\/p>\n
Statistics don\u2019t reveal the intimate details, but I will speculate that every late-term abortion, with few exceptions or more likely none, is due to medical urgency. I am deliberately using broad terminology, to cover multiple possibilities. These medical issues can be devastating, and the decisions that must be made can be heartbreaking.<\/p>\n
Some commentators like to use gruesome language to talk about late-term abortion, as if these were trivial decisions made by uncaring women and heartless doctors. I don\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n
That is a reason for not putting an arbitrary legal limit on the right to abortion. If such a decision has to be made, it should be made privately by a woman and a doctor, not by a policeman.<\/p>\n
Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The woman was driving about 3 miles above the speed limit when a police officer pulled her over. It was very bad luck. The woman was trying to drive unobtrusively. She had just murdered her lover\u2019s wife and was headed … Continue reading