SENATE MEMORIAL 14

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. López and Shannon D. Pinto

and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Angel M. Charley

and Cindy Nava

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE INDIAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT AND THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN TO STUDY AND DEVELOP A STATEWIDE PLAN OF ACTION TO ADDRESS THE FORMER GOVERNMENT POLICY OF FORCED OR COERCED STERILIZATION OF INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND OTHER WOMEN OF COLOR IN NEW MEXICO AND TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR A STATE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION, A MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS OF FORCED OR COERCED STERILIZATION AND STATE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE INHUMANITY OF THE GRIEVOUS POLICY.

 

     WHEREAS, between 1907 and 2018, Indigenous women and other women of color across the United States, including in New Mexico, were subjected to forced or coerced sterilizations without their free, prior and informed consent, often through the federal bureau of Indian affairs and its contracted health care or the bureau's successor, the Indian health service and its direct services and purchased-referred care, which includes physicians and other health care providers, private practices, clinics and institutions; and

     WHEREAS, investigations in the 1970s revealed that between twenty-five and fifty percent of Indigenous women of childbearing age had been sterilized, with some of the highest concentrations of procedures occurring in the Indian health service regions of Albuquerque and the broader southwest; and

     WHEREAS, federal and independent inquiries, including those conducted by the United States government accountability office in 1976 and Indigenous researchers, such as Dr. Connie Pinkerman-Uri (Choctaw/Cherokee), have documented widespread violations of medical ethics and human rights, including sterilizations performed on girls and women under duress or without being given full information about the sterilization procedure and its consequences, or even without any permission being sought; and

     WHEREAS, these acts constitute grave violations of fundamental human rights, including the rights to health, bodily autonomy, family and freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as recognized under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women adopted by the United Nations general assembly and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which classifies forced sterilization as a crime against humanity; and

     WHEREAS, the reproductive violence perpetrated against Indigenous women through forced or coerced sterilization has caused historical and generational trauma, demographic loss and cultural devastation, harms that many legal scholars and human rights experts argue rise to the level of genocide; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico, as a state with a majority-minority population and a deep legacy of Indigenous leadership, bears a moral and historical responsibility to confront this unacknowledged chapter of United States and state history; and

     WHEREAS, transitional justice frameworks, including truth commissions established in Canada, South Africa and the state of Maine, demonstrate that processes of truth-telling, reparative justice and institutional reform can support healing communities and restore public trust in government; and

     WHEREAS, the establishment of a New Mexico memorial to the victims of forced or coerced sterilization and the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission would make New Mexico the first state in the nation to formally investigate, acknowledge and redress the full scope of these violations; and

     WHEREAS, Indigenous women leaders, advocates and survivors, alongside scholars and health practitioners, are organizing to develop a Native American-led framework for culturally grounded reproductive justice and trauma-informed care to ensure such violations never occur again; and

     WHEREAS, in 2025, during the United Nations permanent forum on the rights of Indigenous peoples, the American Indian movement-west delegation met with Dr. Albert K. Barume, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, to raise the issue of forced sterilization of Native American women and to call for a United Nations global study on the scale and scope of these crimes; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Barume has since agreed to undertake a visit to the United States, including a commitment to visit New Mexico, to meet with communities and survivors, engage with state and tribal officials and hold an international press conference on this issue, thereby positioning New Mexico as a focal point for global truth and healing;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the Indian affairs department and the commission on the status of women be requested to conduct a comprehensive study into the history, scope and continuing impacts of forced and coerced sterilization of Indigenous women and other women of color in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study:

          A. identify all known and potential cases of forced or coerced sterilization conducted within New Mexico through United States Indian health service facilities and contracted physicians and other hospitals and clinics;

           B. gather survivor testimony using trauma-informed and culturally safe protocols, in partnership with Indigenous-focused and Indigenous-community-led organizations;

           C. assess the availability and accessibility of reproductive health services for Indigenous women and other women of color in New Mexico today; and

           D. review and recommend educational, policy and reparative measures to prevent future violations and promote community healing; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department and the commission be requested to seek the advice and assistance of victims and family members of victims of forced or coerced sterilization, historians, social and health services practitioners and others knowledgeable about the treatment by government employees and agents against Indigenous women and other women of color and trauma-informed and culturally sensitive protocols to be used when discussing such treatment with victims and their families; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon completion of the study, the department and commission be requested to present their findings and recommendations to the governor and the legislature no later than December 31, 2027, including proposals for:

           A. the establishment of a New Mexico truth and reconciliation commission on the forced or coerced sterilization of Indigenous women and other women of color;

           B. the creation of a statewide Native American-led reproductive justice and reproductive sovereignty program focused on culturally grounded health, education and healing services;

           C. the development of a public memorial and educational curriculum to ensure enduring remembrance and education of this history; and

          D. the acknowledgment by the state of the inhumanity of the grievous policy of forced or coerced sterilization of Indigenous women and other women of color; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of Indian affairs, the chair of the commission on the status of women, the governor, tribal governments in New Mexico, the interim legislative health and human services committee and the interim legislative committee dealing with Indian affairs.

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